One New Message
by Random O' Panda
Summary: None of them had wanted to get caught up in normal high school drama, but three souls were caught in a whirlwind of love and tension and were forever changed: for better and for worse. High school A.U. Cover art by Kegi Springfield.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story was inspired by the movie "You've got mail". It's my take on a high school AU (like the RWBY fandom doesn't have two thousand of those already, right?), but I promise to keep it interesting. I hope.**

 **This first chapter is pretty info dumpy, but it needs to be for the set-up.** **My apologies in advance.**

 **Enjoy!**

X

Weiss Schnee considered herself a fan of most of Beacon's coursework. Professor Goodwitch was an excellent math teacher who was strict but fair, Professor Peach made her Biology classes both entertaining and educational, and even Prof- Doctor Oobleck had a fair classwork-to-homework ratio despite his rather eccentric teaching style.

But Port... Professor I-love-the-sound-of-my-own-voice Port... There was no way that she could ever enjoy being in his class.

You see, Port taught several different subject matters, such as Anatomy and Literature, and was also the head of the Drama department. But no matter what he was supposed to be teaching in a given period, he somehow always made it into a story about his or a family member's life. Great poets of the past? "This reminds me of when..." Where certain bones are located in the body? "My grandfather broke this one when he fought a bear!" The lengths that he would go to in order to derail the class were _ludicrous_.

It was a late October Wednesday in Port's 3rd period Valean Literature class when the seventeen-year-old heiress once again found herself bored out of her mind. Two-and-a-quarter years of monotonous drivel had taught her that, no, the rather rotund man would _not_ be returning to the proper subject matter anytime soon, so Weiss decided to put her attention to better use. Slipping her phone out of her skirt pockets without bringing it out for Port to see, she opened up the Beaconbook app and began typing out a private message.

 _Crystal: Port is rambling again. Please tell me you're having a good enough free period to make up for my bad one._

Beaconbook. The schoolwide phenomena that started her sophomore year when a girl named Reese Chloris decided to hijack the school's servers in order to create a forum of sorts for the students of Beacon to chat about anything and everything. It actually managed to exist for several months before the staff found out about it, frustrating the teachers to no end when they discovered that the bulk of their tests had been compromised for all of the students to see. Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon, seemed to see some future business potential in the site, so after Reese's suspension had been served (she did use private property without authorization, after all) Ozpin and Reese came to an agreement: the site would stay up, but only under the control of the staff. Reese even went the extra step of developing a smartphone app for it, allowing for even easier access on mobile devices.

Any student who wished to have an account simply needed to file a short form to Ms. Goodwitch with their desired username and consent to the forum rules. The rules were of the usual affair: no bullying, no violent or pornographic images or videos, so on and so forth. The system worked because requiring the students to go through the teachers meant that nobody could create fake accounts, thus discouraging anybody from abusing their fellow students since each account was linked to a particular person.

It's important to note that students' real names did not have to be publicly disclosed on the site. This inevitably led to the usernames becoming a source of entertainment in-and-of themselves; after all, who doesn't love playing detective and trying to figure out real identities from small context clues? Her own username, Crystal, was vague enough that it could be almost anyone in the school.

Weiss's phone lit up without making a sound and she swiped to open the message she'd received.

 _Crescent: I can't complain since I'm getting some decent studying in, but I still have to deal with Sir Talks-a-lot later. You know, when everyone has full stomachs from lunch and it's even easier to fall asleep. Just grin and bare it, the bell will be ringing soon._

Weiss smiled to herself as she typed out her reply. Crescent was somebody who had assisted her with her philosophy class several times in the previous year in exchange for frequent help in Algebra 2. Over time their conversations had moved from the discussion boards to PM's, and the topics shifted from school to their personal lives. She had told precious few this, but having a semi-anonymous friend had allowed her to de-stress from the more difficult aspects of her life. To Crescent she was _not_ Weiss Schnee, the prim and proper heiress to the single largest energy company in the world; instead she was Crystal, a girl with some difficulty balancing what she needed to do against everything else.

That had been one of their mutual bonding points. Crescent himself (and yes, she had confirmed that Crescent was a male) had aspirations that he desperately wanted to strive for; but having a large family meant that he needed to work in order to help put food on the table, thus making his dreams just that: dreams. To his credit, Crescent had never come off as angry about his lot in life, only a little regretful of what he knew would be a missed calling. Weiss's own situation was... similar, but not quite the same.

 _Crystal: I suppose I'll live for now, but mark my words: I will **not** stand for taking one of his classes my senior year. On a different note, how is your job these days? It's been a while since you've mentioned it._

 _Crescent: S.S.D.D. my friend. I've been getting decent tips, so all is well on my end. How about you, have you finally managed to cancel those piano lessons?_

 _Crystal: I'm glad you're making some money, and, yes, those useless classes are over with for good. It only took two years to convince my father of their worthlessness and his wasted money. Also, S.S.D.D?_

 _Crescent: Same Stuff Different Day._

Ah, that made sense. Nodding to herself, she put her phone away and flipped the pages of her open textbook. Even if Port refused to cover the material half of the time, she would not allow her grades to drop. It was inexcusable for a Schnee to achieve anything short of perfection.

Time passed and Weiss found herself at her usual lunch table surrounded by the book loving Faunus Blake Belladonna, the loudmouthed aspiring boxer Yang Xiao Long, and engineering prodigy Ruby Rose. Four girls that, in the eyes of the school, formed the foundation of "Table RWBY."

Weiss didn't know who in the student body coined that term, but she was going to punish them for making Ruby of all people their apparent mascot.

Yang addressed the group as she leaned over the table and nicked the last fry from Ruby's tray. "So, girls, who here is ready for the upcoming Fall Dance? We only have seventeen days until it hits, so we need to figure out how we're gonna blow everyone away."

Ruby gave a pout. "Would you stop taking my food!? Also, I'm not going to the dance this year. The money I'd spend on the dress would be better spent getting a new toolset."

"Were we even going to go as a group?" Asked Blake without looking away from her book. "It's not like I hate the idea, but I don't have anybody I'd actually dance with."

"Little miss Belladonna, are you saying you aren't going to accept Sun's invitation?" Yang adopted a scandalized expression. "He's already asked you twice now, and you haven't given him an answer one way or the other!"

Blake made a small grunt. "Well, he seems... nice... but I'm not really interested in a relationship at the moment and he's made it clear that that's exactly what he's looking for."

Weiss felt rather strong sympathy pains for her stoic friend. Just one year prior she'd been dealing with her own unwanted advances from one Jaune Arc, a boy who had required not one or two, but _seven_ staunch refusals to come to grips with the fact that she wasn't interested in him. The last rejection had been, unfortunately, a rather public one, but it had been perfectly clear to her that he was just another fool who had only been interested in her money or title.

A hearty laugh brought her attention to a table not too far from her own, where the very boy she'd been thinking about was sitting with his friends. Nora Valkyrie was rambling on about some dream she'd had while Lie Ren gently corrected her. Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune were listening to the tale in open laughter, both happily indulging the ginger in her wild stories. What caught Weiss's attention was that whenever Jaune happened to be distracted with his food or Nora's story, Pyrrha would take the opportunity to sneak at peek at the blond. While the heiress had never understood the reason for the track and field star's not-so-secret attraction for the boy, the inevitable couple had her freely given blessings.

"-iss? Remnant to Weiss?"

Weiss brought her focus back to her own table. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What is it?"

"Nah, you were paying attention; it just wasn't to us." Yang had a wide grin at catching her staring. "Anyways, what I was asking was if anyone was taking you to the dance? We've all seen Neptune flirting with you, but I know you have your little talking buddy~"

She gave an open sigh. "I swear, Xiao Long, telling you about him has got to be one of my greatest mistakes. If you must know, I currently do not have an escort to the dance; I do, however, have an arrangement to meet with the quote 'talking buddy.'"

All three of her companions, even Blake, looked at her like they were seeing an alien, but Ruby was the first to speak. "Um, Weiss, I know I've only known you for a few months now, but isn't it dangerous to meet with someone you've never actually seen before? The internet is a scary place."

"Normally you'd be correct, Ruby, but the simple fact is that everybody with a Beaconbook account is a member of this school. It's incredibly likely that I've seen this individual every day of my tenure, so I have little reason to suspect them of being an unsavory individual." What she didn't say was that choosing to meet Crescent had been no easy decision. For just about a year she'd pondered over the name, using every little clue he dropped in a futile attempt to suss out his true identity. The most important factor in her choice to meet him was the fact that they'd connected so well despite never speaking in person.

She wanted to put a face to the name so that she could thank him for being a friend in the darkness of her life. While she was trapped in her destiny, he held her hand and made her feel that maybe, just maybe, she could have a dream of her own. Because while she knew what she was going to do in the future (that is, becoming the next head of the Schnee Energy Company,) she had no idea what she _wanted_ to do. At least Crescent had a dream, however impossible it seemed to be for him.

Weiss's heart had nothing to strive for.

"I have two more questions, Weiss-cream," said Yang as she interrupted her thoughts once more. "First, where are you meeting this mystery man; and second, will you at least tell us his username so I can look the guy up? Maybe I could figure out who it is before you even go!"

She rolled her eyes at the brawler. "I'm meeting him at the Vermilion Garden, and I absolutely refuse to tell you who it is. Knowing you, you'd likely interrogate him before I meet him and scare the living daylights out of him."

"I object! I'd only interrogate him if he were going after Ruby." The blonde rubbed her sister's head affectionately, making the younger girl whine a bit. "Because it's you, I'd probably just make a whole bunch of innuendos and puns at your expense!"

"And there we have it! You'll be getting no more information from me." Yang tried for several more minutes go pry anything she could from the heiress, but Weiss kept her mouth firmly shut. She was in no mood to add fuel to Yang's wild speculations.

After school, her butler Klein was waiting at the school gates with the family Mercedes-Benz in order to drive her home, as was the routine. It was a twenty minute drive between school and the Schnee estate; but Klein had always been the best of listeners, so what could have been a long and cold drive was almost always a warm conversation that ended all too soon. They soon came upon the familiar gates, which automatically opened just far enough to let the car through. When they walked into the mansion she handed the satchel that held her textbooks to Klein for him to take to her room and made her way to her father's study.

The halls of their estate were as white and as cold as they'd always been. Aside from a large family portrait and the occasional decorative urn, there was nothing to cheer her up before speaking to her father. Whitley passed by as she walked and gave her a polite nod, which she returned without much thought. Younger than her by two years, his dislike for her and Winter had never been well hidden; still, he had yet to take any actions against them, so Weiss was content to let him go about his business.

Jacques Schnee was on the landline telephone when she let herself into his study-slash-office. When he registered her presence he simply held up a finger as a silent command and continued speaking to the person on the other end. Her father seemed to be in a decent mood, so she was more than happy to wait for his conversation to finish. Two minutes later he hung up the phone and finally spoke to his second daughter. His tone was courteous, but nowhere approaching warm. "Hello, Weiss. How were your classes today?"

"As fruitful as always, father." Weiss made sure she sounded equally as distant. "Klein said that you wished to speak to me?"

"Indeed I do," he replied as he posed his hands together in front of his face. "There is to be a meeting in two weeks time that requires your presence. Unfortunately, it is in the middle of the day due to the other party's schedule limitations. You don't have any exams or major projects on that week, correct?"

She gave it a moment's thought. The only things she could recall were her meeting with Crescent and the dance the week after. "I'll be unavailable the Saturday before or after, but the middle of the week has only normal school activities. What time will the meeting be?"

Jacques smiled; it only served to unnerve her. "One o' clock sharp, so make sure your teachers understand that you must be allowed out before then. The fate of the company, of the family itself, rests on this meeting going well. Do you understand?"

Confusion arose within her. "Getting permission to be absent from school shouldn't be an issue, but who are we meeting with? They must be very influential if you're this concerned about my presence, father."

"Influential they are, Weiss. It is the head of Menagerie's branch of the White Fang: Sienna Kahn."

The shock of his words made her physically recoil for a moment. The White Fang was a well-known advocacy group for Faunus rights. Many years ago they'd been a rather violent group, but over the last two decades they had become a respectable organization that the Faunus could rely on to push for equal treatment throughout the world. The Schnee Energy Company employed many Faunus in its plants, so getting on the good side of the White Fang was not only prudent, it was integral to their future success.

The importance of Weiss attending couldn't have been clearer. As the next head of the Company, Sienna Kahn would want to make sure that she would consent to any agreement her father struck with them. Recovering from her shock, she bowed her head. "I understand completely. I'll make all of the arrangements I need to with my classes and be properly prepared for the meeting."

That same snake-like smile slipped onto his face. "Excellent, I'm glad to see that you're quick on the uptake. That will be all for now, Weiss. I shall inform you of any changes that may occur."

"Yes sir. Excuse me." Slipping out of the room, Weiss heaved a sigh of relief at being out of her father's presence. The last thing she wanted was to deal with SEC related matters, but dealing with the White Fang was extremely important. She would never shirk her duties as the heiress...

...but she also could not wait for next Saturday to arrive.

- **Jaune** -

Jaune Arc had a steady routine most days. Wake up, make breakfast for the family, and then go to school. Do an hour of homework, head to his job to make some money, do some more homework, and, finally, sleep.

Making enough food for seven people was exhausting. Olive would help as much as she could, but she hated eggs. Sapphire was easy to please, but was also liable to burn the house down on accident if she helped. Juniper, their mother, did the most her health would allow: namely, organizing the kids' chores from her bedroom.

Their father wasn't of this world anymore.

It still hurt, if he was to be honest; but there was still a family to feed, so Jaune had long since put his mourning aside so he could focus on putting food on the table. His mom's health stopped her from doing most physical labors, but her mind was as sharp as it'd always been. Her old law firm still used her as a consultant from time to time, so it wasn't like she couldn't make money; Jaune just needed to chip in where he could, that was all.

His schoolwork was average, which was good enough as far as he was concerned. He did a lot better in subjects that allowed for some lateral thinking, like literature, so he only really needed help in math and physics these days.

Jaune didn't have a huge number of friends, but the ones he did have were the best that anybody could ask for. Nora's energy always brought a smile to his face, especially when she talked about music and how her drumming skills were coming along in the school band. Ren wasn't overtly passionate about anything besides his eccentric cooking, and he was great at giving you sound advice wherever he could. And Pyrrha? Well, let's just say that Pyrrha was going to be an absolute beast at any international track events after she graduated high school. She was a powerhouse whose competitive nature contrasted her extremely gentle nature. He also saw Yang from time to time, though she seemed to talk to his sisters more often than him. She was great at handling his family, likely a skill she earned from having Ruby in her life.

Jaune's best friend, though, was one he had yet to meet in person.

It was Friday when Jaune's scroll vibrated in his pocket during his final class for the week, Professor Peach's mammal biology, so he stealthily snuck the device out of his pocket and read the Beaconbook message.

 _Crystal: Sorry for the silence. I was busy making preparations for a school day I have to miss._

He replied while eyeing the teacher to make sure she wasn't going to catch him.

 _Crescent: All is well. You missing school, though? It's either family related or that Mercury guy rubbed off on you. I hope it isn't anything too awful._

 _Crystal: It's a business meeting with a potential foreign "business partner." I would love to skip the meeting, but it's too important. And I wouldn't be caught dead hanging around that "too cool for school" buffoon!_

 _Crescent: Is it soon?_

 _Crystal: The Wednesday after you and I officially meet._

"Mr. Arc, we still have three minutes left before dismissal. Put the phone away." Nearly jumping out of his seat at being addressed, Jaune issued a hasty apology and stowed it away.

Getting to know Crystal was a happy accident that occured when his Algebra scores had been down to abysmal levels. She (yes, he'd somehow managed to not screw things up with a girl so far) essentially tutored him for a couple months until he was able to fly straight. For a while he believed that he'd never be able to return the favor, until Crystal started having trouble in Oobleck's philosophy class. Fast forward to today, where they now spoke almost every day about a range of topics.

Crystal's suggestion to finally meet in person had come as a legitimate surprise, but the request couldn't have made him any happier. It was him who suggested that they meet at his sister's restaurant, although he made sure to omit mentioning that he worked there himself. Or that the owner was related to him at all.

The situation was stressful enough without making it look like he needed his sister's help to have a date.

 _'Date...'_

The word alone was enough to make his cheeks flush. Crystal hadn't called it a date, but here he was scheduling a get together with a girl. She liked his personality, they got along great, and they were meeting at a nice restaurant he just so happened to be more than acquainted with. They had agreed to wear casual-nice outfits, and his palms started to sweat every time he started to stress over being presentable. It sure felt like a date.

The school bell rang to release the teenagers in the wild, though Jaune took a more casual pace out of the doors. The parking lot was always chaotic at dismissal, and he'd long since learned to save himself the effort of rushing out. He drove a dark-green pick-up truck that sat four people, though two of those seats were the little pull-down kind that faced inward behind the front seats. It wasn't the most fuel-efficient ride, but he kept he clean just like his had.

Content to let the most eager teen drivers fight for the exit, Jaune let the air conditioner keep him cool while he nailed out some of the easier homework assignments. Thankfully, it was mostly reading through the material that day. Once the chaos of the parking lot settled down, he buckled up and rode out to his job.

The Vermilion Garden, so named because his sister, the head chef and owner, was named Vermilion. It was a pretty nice restaurant that served southern Mistralian foods, usually centered around pasta. Jaune was a host from Monday to Thursday and a server on the weekends. He was originally a server the whole week, but they were usually slow in the middle of the week. Having his sister be the boss meant nobody could complain about him having the best hours. That said, Vermilion never let him take it easy. When she agreed to hire him a year ago, she made it perfectly clear that she expected the same work ethic from him that she needed from every other employee.

His oldest sister was a weird egg for sure. One moment she'd be yelling at him to pick up the pace, the next moment she would be giving him tips for any future dates. There's nothing quite like having the head chef of the restaurant poke her head out of the kitchen just to point at a couple and say, very loudly by the way, "You see those two Jaune? That's how a woman wants to be treated when you go out together!"

Vermilion also contributed funds to the Arc household, but the fact that she lived separate from them meant that she could only give so much; hence why Jaune worked seven days a week.

It was a Friday evening, so when he got to work he put on his black button-down work uniform, donned his apron with the restaurant logo at his hip, and immediately started tending to the tables passed his way. It wound up being a slow evening for the business, but he still managed to walk away with 50 Lien and some change by the end. At eight he was summarily dismissed by Vermilion and went home right away.

The smell of pizza hit him as soon as he walked into the house, no doubt ordered from the local pizzeria as was the usual. Having eaten some food at the Garden, he ignored the smell and walked straight to his room on the second floor. In a family with so many children, the only reason Jaune had his own room was because he was a guy.

Thinking that the homework could wait, he dropped his book bag unceremoniously on the floor and leaned over his bed, grabbing the guitar case hidden there. Jaune couldn't help but smile as he brought out the acoustic beauty within, it being one of the few things he'd spoiled himself with in recent years. There was nothing unique about it, really; the wood was a simple light-brown with a dark trim on the edges. But as he plucked the strings and began tuning it by ear, he felt his heart soar as it always had when he played.

Music was... It was heaven for Jaune. On bad days it cheered him up, and on good days it congratulated him. There wasn't a thing in this world that failed to be better when it was accompanied by a song. He didn't care that there were a thousand better guitar players, or tens of thousands more experienced singers; all that mattered was that he could occasionally slip in the sea of notes and lyrics.

Many moons ago, Jaune had considered making a living off of music. He knew he wouldn't be selling out any concert halls, but it would be a job doing something he loved. Nicholas Arc's passing, however, made that dream impossible to follow. He had a family to provide for, and he was determined to do just that. In the meantime, he would indulge himself every so often in his free time. It was enough for him.

It had to be.

- **Yang** -

Yang Xiao Long had a secret. It wasn't anything explosive, or new, or even that interesting to most people; but it was hers, and there was a part of her determined to keep it that way.

Yang jogged several miles everyday for fitness reasons. With a goal of making the amateur boxing circuit when she graduated high school, she had to do everything she could to stay at peak physical condition. Most days her route took her through downtown Vale to the park, but every Sunday she altered that course to go to a different residential area, crossing a river by bridge for a singular purpose: to see her private musician.

Discovering him had been a genuine crazy random happenstance! In late Sophomore year, she had spent some weeks figuring out her ideal route when she wound up going over the river one Sunday morning. Her feet had been aching from underestimating the distance she was making that day, so she slowed to a walk, took in the sights... and that's when she heard it.

The singing was the first thing she caught, but as she neared the source she could hear a guitar playing. It was a simple ballad, slow and soulful, but the sound was so earnest that she simply _needed_ to find out who it was. Imagine her surprise when she found Jaune Arc, of all people, sitting on the front steps of a home and playing to a crowd of two blond girls that were both younger than him. Closer examination revealed they were all clearly related, but none of them even noticed her presence until his song ended.

Jaune's eyebrows rose in surprise, but the youngest girl (who she now knew very well to be Lavender) happily waved to the new arrival. When Jaune confirmed to Lavender that he knew Yang from school, the little girl jumped from her seat and dragged Yang in to listen to the next song. Thus began her weekly ritual of listening to the only Arc son perform.

Over the months, she'd slowly come to know more about the Arc family, usually from one of Jaune's sisters being talkative. The oldest two sisters had moved out, their mother was sick all of the time, and their father had passed away in some currently undisclosed incident. Jaune worked all the time to support his family financially. Spending time with the family each week eventually led to closeness, and Yang always looked forward to hugging the adorable Lavender or exchanging snark with Olive, who was a rather vivacious girl that was Ruby's age.

But most importantly, she always looked forward to being near Jaune.

In her heart, Yang couldn't quite call the feeling love. Her conversations with the boy tended to be polite and short, and were never about anything too deep or important; but she felt like she _lived_ to hear him perform! He put his all into every song, and the one time she requested a particular tune Jaune spent two weeks trying to get it right. It was like they had an unspoken agreement to just sit and let the music wash over both of them.

Pyrrha, a friend that had moved from Mistral some years ago, had a pretty obvious crush on Jaune; as in, practically everyone at Beacon knew except the blond himself. Pyrrha denied it, naturally, but the way she stared at the back of his head? Come on. One of these days either Pyrrha was going to confess or Jaune was going to gain a few brain cells and finally catch on, and when either of those things happened they'd get together and be happy all the rest of their days. Until then, Yang was going to keep the Sunday performances for herself.

That was okay to do, right?

On this Sunday, like so many others now, Yang made her jog across the bridge and came upon the Arc household. Jaune was by himself, a rarity in all honesty, and was rather energetically singing Uncle Kracker's "Follow me"; and when she said energetic, she meant Jaune's whole body was swaying back and forth in time with the beat. Once he finished his little show, Yang took a seat right next to him and shot him a grin. "Well, _somebody's_ in a good mood today. Judging from the song, it must be about a girl~"

Jaune laughed as he set his guitar down. "Actually, yes, it is. I'm excited for a date that's coming up next week."

Yang blinked. She hadn't meant the suggestion seriously, but she'd roll with it. "Oh-ho-ho! And just who is the lucky lady? Is she a singer like you, lover boy?"

 _'...or a redheaded athlete...'_

"Hmm." He made a dramatic gesture out of thinking, cupping his chin with his left hand. "I've known you long enough to know that anything I say can and will be used against me in a court of teasing. I think I'll stay quiet for now."

"Oh come on, don't throw me some bait and then leave me hanging for the meal! You've gotta tell me something, anything." She held her right hand over her heart. "I solemnly swear to avoid mocking you or telling anybody you don't want to know about this. Okay?"

"Remember, I have seven sisters. I've seen plenty of hidden crossed fingers in my time." Yang held her left hand in the air, revealing them uncrossed. He shrugged. "Good enough for me, I guess. It's somebody I met on Beaconbook."

"Really? These online romances seem to be all the rage these days. Maybe I'll take a stab at it soon. So, I can assume you don't know their real name?"

"Nope, but her username is Crystal. I'm convinced she couldn't have picked a more generic name if she tried."

"Crystal? Yeah, it doesn't give you any clues to who they actually are." As Yang spoke, she realized that the scenario had started to sound a little... too familiar. "Question: where are you meeting them? Movie, restaurant, or maybe at a park?"

"Oh, I'm meeting her at the Vermilion Garden. I work there and my sister is the owner, so I've managed to get the meal paid for. Don't go spreading that, though, because I'd rather not have a hundred people coming to me for free food." Jaune chuckled to himself, blind to Yang's mental cogs going at rapid speed. It couldn't be right, but the day and locations were adding up. The only thing she was unsure of was Weiss's username, since she'd never needed to know. Before today that is.

Memories of Jaune asking Weiss out the previous years rolled through at warp speed, of Weiss publicly shooting him down. If her suspicions were correct... then things were not going to go well next weekend. Should she tell him? Was it her place to?

Jaune soon dismissed himself so he could get to his chores, and Yang was left only with her worries as she walked back to her house. If this were a romantic comedy, she could rely on things to at least be funny when her two friends reported to her what happened; you know, the kind of funny that would let her go 'Oh my gosh, you two knew each before? No waay~' with a little heart symbol at the end. But these were real people, with real feelings. They would, one way or another, find out the other's identity, and it likely wouldn't be a pretty sight.

So what was her role in this going to be?

X

 **Frequently Asked Questions!**

 **Q: How often will this story update?**

 **A: There is no set release schedule, but I will be going back and forth between this and Charismatic Gamer. I appreciate your patience.**

 **Q: So what's the final pairing going to be?**

 **A: Secret, hence why it's unmarked.**

 **Q: Pyrrha's name isn't on the list, though!**

 **A: She's a nice girl** **, and I'm sure there's a guy out there for her. Maybe in the Archery club?**

 **Q: What tone are you going for?**

 **A: *points to drama tag***

 **Q: Will there be perspectives outside of Weiss, Jaune, and Yang?**

 **A: If a scene calls for it, then yes; but they are the main three, so those times will be infrequent.**

 **Q: Southern Mistralian food is...?**

 **A: Italian.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this introductory chapter! Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day.** **I'm off to write more Charismatic Gamer.**

 **...Promise!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** **A short chapter, but I hope you still enjoy it.**

X

Yang's walk home was uneventful save for the torrent of emotions she was feeling. Caught between telling her two friends the secret identity of the other and remaining silent, she quickly realized that this was a situation she needed advice for. Hopping over the short wire fence their family had for Zwei, she opened up the front door of her home and let a warm sight soothe her heart.

Ruby had fallen asleep on the couch the night before while watching some movies with their dad. Taiyang had evidently woken up and gone off somewhere, because Summer Rose had brought Ruby's head onto her lap and was absentmindly rubbing it and humming a nameless tune. Zwei, the world's most adorable corgi and resident attention hog, was snoozing as he lay on Ruby's chest. The entire scene was nothing out of the ordinary, but it never failed to make her heart flutter a bit.

Strictly speaking, Summer was only Ruby's biological mother. Her own mother, Raven, had split right around the time she was born, leaving Summer to pick up the pieces of Taiyang's broken heart. For the longest time Yang had a burning desire to scour the world over in search of Raven, to demand to know why she abandoned her family. Why she had abandoned _her._

Now, though? At seventeen years old, Yang had managed to come to her own conclusion for her life: Summer was her real mom. She had a mother, and Raven could go to hell for all she cared.

Summer spotted her as she walked into the living room and held up a finger to her lips. Gingerly, she lifted Ruby's head just enough to let her slip off of the couch and replaced the missing lap with a couch cushion. Both of them went into the kitchen, where Yang poured herself a glass of water. "Basking in her adorableness, Mom?"

"Can you blame me? The two of you won't be teenagers for much longer, so I need to get my fix while I can." Summer chuckled as she opened the fridge and retrieved the milk. A moment later, she was sipping on it with a reverent expression. "All these years, and I still don't know how Taiyang manages to drink coffee instead of this."

Yang just rolled her eyes. "You must be the only detective in the entire Vale police department not to rely on coffee to get by."

"Now we both know that's not true," she replied with a 'tut.' "Qrow relies on his scotch to focus. The real mystery is how he hasn't managed to get fired over that."

"It probably has to do with his amazing track record. That, and the fact that he's buddy-buddy with the commissioner."

"True." They shared a laugh over that before the conversation fell silent. Yang shuffled a bit, unsure of how to ask what she really wanted to. Summer caught it, naturally, and adopted a serious expression. "What's on your mind, Yang? It isn't like you to hesitate about something."

"It really isn't, huh?" She took another swig of her water before continuing. "I need some advice about some friends of mine."

That seemed to amuse her mom. "Is this actually about your friends, or is this one of those 'project my problems onto somebody else' moments?"

"The first one, thank goodness, but I'm also involved a bit. You see, two of my friends have some bad history with each other. Typical rejected love stuff, nothing violent or dark. What they don't know is that they've been talking to each other online under usernames. They both agreed to meet at a restaurant next weekend, and... I'm scared about what's gonna happen when the two of them find out who their anonymous friend really is."

Summer pondered the scenario for a few moments before responding. "Do you know for a fact that it's these two who are going to meet?"

She sighed. "Not a hundred percent, but enough of the dots are connecting to form the picture. What I'm really asking is should I tell one or both of them what I know, or just let this whole thing happen and deal with it then?"

"...I'm going to be honest, honey: the way I see it, there isn't an answer that's altogether 'right.'" Summer reached over and rubbed Yang's shoulder to make her feel better. "If I were in your shoes, I guess I'd choose to stay silent on the off-chance that things go better than expected. The most important thing is to be the best friend that you can to both of them and to remember what I've always said about lies."

Yang smiled as she parroted the line. "'I'd rather you hurt me with the truth than kill me with a lie.' Gods, how many times did we hear that growing up?"

"Take it from the detective, it always bares repeating; especially to fully grown adults who insist on turning small problems into big ones." She brought Yang into a hug. "In matters between friends, it'll all work out if you put your heart into every choice you make. I promise."

"Thanks, Mom." They stayed like that for a moment before breaking the embrace. "I seem to recall you promising Ruby some snickerdoodles."

A twinkle entered her mother's silver eyes. "I know that I said no such thing, but I'll let it slide this time. Will you preheat the oven for me?"

"Of course!" Happy to comply, Yang began scrambling to get everything her mom needed together. Her worry was still present, but she would put her faith in her mom's advice and do the best she could moving forward.

- **Weiss** -

It was lunchtime on Monday, and while Weiss knew that it was rude to her friends to be messaging Crescent instead of involving herself in the discussion, there was an absolutely vital exchange of information taking place.

 _Crescent:_ _Just to make sure, I'm supposed to be holding onto a white rose so that you know that it's me, right?_

 _Crystal: Correct. If I may ask: I know we agreed on casual-nice, but what will you actually be wearing?_

 _Crescent: Probably slacks and a button-down shirt with no tie. No clue what color yet. I'd ask you the same question, but I'm pretty sure that you won't tell me :P_

 _Crystal: Indeed, because it's quite the rude question to ask a lady._

Well, that and she honestly hadn't figured it out yet herself. She was used to dressing either elegantly for formal events, or business-like for company related matters. As loathe as she was to admit it, she might need help picking out a proper wardrobe for meeting with a complete stranger... that was more or less or best friend. But who to ask?

To her left sat Blake, book mysteriously absent for once as she picked at the cafeteria food. She was taller than Weiss was and almost always wore some assortment of black and purple clothes. While the color black coupled well with anything in the fashion world, Weiss felt that she wanted to wear something a little... brighter. Next on the list was Ruby, who seemed to be in a near-perpetual state of wearing grime-covered clothes due to her auto shop class. Even when she wasn't covered in some layer of filth, it was a rare day indeed to see her void of her red hoodie and combat boots.

No. That simply would not do.

That left the one and only Yang Xiao Long. Her blonde friend was, in her opinion, actually rather stylish. Her favorite colors to wear were beige and yellow to accent her luxurious hair, but she occasionally mixed it up with any type of color she felt like wearing that day; yet, somehow, Yang never looked out of place in any environment. Not quite Coco Adel levels of fashionista, but her skill would more than suffice for what she needed. The only catch was that Yang was likely to tease and torment her to high heaven... which she might just have to grin and deal with if she's the one asking for help.

Weiss waited to broach the subject until after Yang finished telling a(nother) terrible pun. "Yang, are you busy this afternoon? I need to borrow some of your time, if you don't mind."

"The only thing I had planned today was leg day at the gym, otherwise I'm free." Yang gave her a skeptical look. "If you're taking me on a date, just realize that I do expect dinner first."

Weiss did her best to ignore Ruby choking on her food. "I'm trying to coordinate an outfit for this Saturday, and would appreciate having a second opinion. Will you help me?"

Yang shook her head in disbelief. "Wait, hold on. You, Weiss Schnee, are asking me, the great Yang Xiao Long, for fashion advice?"

She opened her mouth to respond, but Yang preempted her by holding up a finger and bringing her phone into view, narrating herself as she typed into it. "Dear diary, a miracle occurred today. I might buy a lottery ticket on the way home..."

Weiss could've sworn a vein popped in her head. "If you aren't going to take me seriously just say so!"

"Easy there, easy! I was just teasing, Weiss. I would love to help you plan for your date." Even as she apologized, the grin never dropped from Yang's face. "Are we going shopping or headed to your house to do this?"

She gave a quiet 'hmph' at her friend's antics. "I should have everything we need at my home, so we'll only go shopping if absolutely necessary. Meet me at the front of the school when the bell dismisses us."

"Can do. Don't miss me too much while I'm gone, Rubes."

"Please, this'll give me time to do whatever I want at home. Weiss, my sis is yours for the evening."

Come the afternoon the two girls were on the way to the Schnee home, with Yang a bit disappointed that there wasn't any alcohol like one would find in a party limousine. Klein, bless his heart, played along with the thought and suggested that he might take her home in the mile-long stretch limo the family owned, making Yang guffaw.

When they walked inside, Yang gave a low whistle. "I'm impressed, but I feel like this place could use a little color besides, you know, white. Can I be an interior decorator for the day, too?"

"I'm not sure my father's heart would survive your work, and he's perfectly healthy." Weiss couldn't contain a chuckle at the thought of Jacques walking into a dining room painted sunflower yellow. "If I ever feel like being petty, then we'll talk."

"Thank you for the business!" Both lapsing into fits of laughter, they made it to Weiss's bedroom and got Yang got to work tearing through her walk-in closet. "Alright, fashion talk. Do you know what he's gonna wear?"

"Button-down with no tie. Unknown color."

"Damn. Alright, since we can't color coordinate to him we should probably have you wear white or blue since they bring out your eyes." The sound of rustling clothes took over for a moment until Yang popped out with several hangers drapped over her arm. "I've picked out some top and skirt combos, so try them on in the order I have them. There's only one undershirt in the stack 'cause it basically goes with all of 'em."

"Understood." Weiss got right to changing clothes, the conversation lulling as she did so. She had expected Yang to badger her with questions or make endless teasing remarks; instead Yang chose to remain silent, only speaking up to reject the first outfit because the skirt was shorter than she had anticipated. As Weiss put on the second outfit, a thin, sapphire blouse with a skirt of a lighter shade, she allowed herself to sigh. "Well, Yang? Aren't you going to pester me a little?"

"Hm?" Yang tilted her head questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"You know, ask me who the guy is, make some puns about the internet. Something."

"Oh, well, when you put it that way, how can I refuse? Let's see..." She began ticking off her fingers. "I could bug you for his username again, suggest putting on some lacy white lingerie- which I saw in there, by the way, I like your style- or I could make you swear to say a whole bunch of racy lines. But out of all my options, I think that I'll ask you a question."

As she buttoned up the blouse, Weiss mentally braced for her worst.

"Are you happy to be meeting up with him?"

"What?" Her head whipped around to look at her companion. "You want to know if I'm... happy?"

"Yeah. You're obviously nervous since you came to me for fashion advice of all things, but are you excited or dreading this?" Yang crossed her arms as she awaited Weiss's answer.

"I-" She cleared her throat. "I'm very happy; ecstatic, even. This is the boy who's talked me through some of the tough parts of my life in the past year. I just... really want this to go well."

"Okay then. As your friend, I want you to promise me something."

"And what's that?"

"That no matter who is waiting for you at that restaurant, you will remember that he's your friend. He's a mystery, but _not_ a stranger." Yang came around to stand in front of her as she finished putting on the outfit. It was bizarre, because Weiss had never before seen her so... gentle. "Can you do yourself that favor, Weiss?"

"Of course I can." Weiss allowed herself to smile. "Thank you, Yang. I feel a bit better now."

"That's my job. Now go try on the next outfit, that one doesn't feel right to me." Weiss nodded and began to do so. As she was changing her phone began to ring and Yang took it upon herself to check the caller ID. "Says that Neptune's calling you. You gave him your phone number?"

She flushed a bit at that. "A little while back, though this is the first time he's actually called. Can you put it on speakerphone?"

"Yep." Yang pressed a button and held the phone up so Weiss's voice would be received better. "Hey, blue boy. Weiss has her hands full, so you're on speaker right now."

 _"Got it, voice-that-sounds-just-like-Yang. How are you doing, Weiss?"_

"I'm doing well, thank you. And yourself?"

 _"Pretty good, pretty good. Hey, so I've managed to get two tickets to this play that's going down on Saturday. Is there any chance I could get the pleasure of your company?"_

Weiss frowned. She liked Neptune, and couldn't deny that she found him attractive, but- "What time on Saturday?"

 _"The tickets say that it starts at six and runs for three or so hours. Maybe we could also grab an early dinner before then?"_

"I'm sorry, Neptune, but I have a standing engagement around that time."

 _"Ah, I see._ His voice sounded a bit deflated now. _"Well, just know that the offer stands if your schedule clears up. I'll talk to you later, snow angel."_

"Have a good evening, Neptune." The call ended, and Weiss couldn't help but notice the coy look on Yang's face. "What?"

"Nothing at all, I'm just proud of my friend and how she can pull in almost any guy she wants."

"Oh, shut up and help me with this zipper."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** **I have a million excuses for how long this took. Which one would you like to hear?** **This chapter is also short (I'm sorry!), but don't worry; the real meat of the story is coming up in chapter four.**

X

Jaune stood in front of the headmaster's office after the dismissal bell and gave the door a firm knock. When he heard a voice say 'Come in', he let himself inside and shut the door behind him. Ozpin's office was as simple as always; the only decorations he displayed were a set of clocks on his bookshelf and a small cactus that sat on his desk. Whenever anyone asked about the cactus, he would simply smile and say 'there is so much that people can learn from cacti', refusing to detail just what there was to be learned from a desert plant. Jaune held up a stack of stapled papers. "I'm turning this in for Professor Peach's class, sir."

Ozpin simply nodded. "Of course, Mr. Arc. Just set it on the desk and I'll make sure she receives it when she returns."

"Thank you," he answered as he set his essay down. "I have to ask, sir: do you ever get tired of handling her classwork when she goes out of town?"

A wry smile was his answer. "I must confess that I never expected to be doing it as often as I do in recent years, but both she and I were aware that she would be needed at any number of locations before I employed her, so I'm afraid that I must deal with the circumstances as they are. Professor Peach is well regarded in the scientific community, as you well know by now."

"Sounds like it's tough for both of you." Jaune couldn't hold in his chuckles. "Well, thank you again, Professor.

He turned to dismiss himself, but Ozpin called out, "Please hold, Mr. Arc. I was actually hoping we could talk for a moment."

"...I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"I assure you that all is well. Please, have a seat." Ozpin gestured to the chair opposite his own and Jaune obeyed, curious about what could be on his mind. The older man paused to make sure that Jaune was ready to talk. "How are your classes faring this year, Mr. Arc?"

"Honestly? Better than I expected." It was true, too. He'd managed to sustain a C average across the board, with Biology being his best class at a high B. Math still gave him a hard time every now and then, but he had a great tutor in Crystal. "I've been able to balance schoolwork and my job fairly well."

"That's good to hear. I was concerned that working as many days as you do would interfere with your coursework, so I'm pleased that fate has been avoided." Ozpin's voice remained neutral, and when Jaune quietly nodded instead of responding he decided to continue. "I believe I've told all of the students that the number one thing I hope to avoid in my school is wasting any student's potential, wherever their skills may point them."

 _'Ah,'_ thought Jaune. _'I know where this is going.'_

"Mr. Arc, are you sure that you won't return to the music program? I would be than happy to convince the dean of the Mistral College of Performing Arts to give you a full scholarship, or any university of your choice for that matter. You're more than skilled enough for it, and Nicholas often told me of how much you loved performing."

"Huh," responded Jaune a bit lamely. "I forgot that you were friends with my dad."

"Indeed." Ozpin's face finally softened as he looked at him. "Mr. A-"

He stopped himself with a sigh. "Jaune, all your father ever wanted was for you to be happy doing what you loved. While I respect your will to support your family, I feel obligated to say that you should strive for more than working minimum-wage jobs. Heaven knows that you deserve to."

Jaune gave a sigh to match the headmaster's. "I appreciate your concern, sir, but I'm doing what needs to be done for my family. If I rejoined the music program, I'd have to attend all of the after school practices and events, which would take time out of my job. And the MCPA is a great school, but it's also on another continent, so... Sorry."

That final word killed any chance of continuing the conversation. Ozpin gave a simple nod that Jaune knew was his dismissal, so he bowed his head and left, leaving the headmaster alone with his thoughts. When Glynda Goodwitch entered a few minutes later to meet with him, she found her employer staring at a picture frame he was holding in his hands. She cleared her throat to grab his attention. "Should I come back in a few minutes?"

"No, we can talk now." He set the picture down at just such an angle that Glynda could make out three men in it: Ozpin himself, his drunken friend Qrow, and an unknown blonde man. "What's on your mind, Glynda?"

"Just making sure you've submitted the documents for all of the students set to take AP courses next semester. You dilly-dallied with the summer submissions, and look how much effort that took to correct."

Ozpin refrained from rolling his eyes. Glynda Goodwitch was his second-in-command on top of being the primary math instructor for Beacon. She was good at her job, especially since part of her job was, apparently, keeping _him_ in check. "Rest assured, I've done everything I need to. I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Really now?" She raised an eyebrow at him and Ozpin forced himself to not look away. After a few moments of a good ol' fashioned 'Vacuo staredown', Glynda raised her notepad and scribbled something onto it. "Very well, I'll go work on grading some tests. Was there anything you needed of me before I board myself up in my office?"

"As a matter of fact, I do have a question for you. What are your impressions of Jaune Arc?"

"Jaune Arc?" Glynda looked at the ceiling as she registered what she knew of him. "A pleasant boy, if nothing else. He occasionally slips in his grades for my course, but I can tell that it's not from a lack of effort. Why, is something the matter with him?"

"Not at all," responded Ozpin with a wave of his hand. "Simply regretting the... lack of attention I've paid him over the last few years. I knew his father before his passing and feel that I might've done more to help him and his family."

Glynda felt her eyes travel to the picture frame on the headmaster's desk once more. Upon closer examination, the blonde man in it bore some resemblance to Jaune Arc. "I see. Are you giving me special instructions, or...?"

"No, keep treating Mr. Arc the same as all of the other students. Thank you." Glynda nodded and excused herself from the office. With a sigh, Ozpin put the picture back into its home in his desk and began typing into his computer. While Jaune Arc was a prominent focus point at that moment, he had his responsibilities as headmaster to take care of.

Such as making sure those AP forms were taken care of.

\--

Traffic was light that Wednesday evening, making Jaune's trip through town relatively painless. He had to work soon, but there was something he absolutely had to do before it got dark that day. As he drove his passenger began to blow air out of her nose rather violently, leading him to glance over at her and smirk. "Complaining about the smell again, Olive?"

"You know how much I hate that pine-scented ornament, Jaune." His little sister crossed her arms with a huff. The color of her hair and eyes matched his own perfectly, though she kept her hair in a shoulder-length ponytail instead of the short bobs their other sisters preferred. If it weren't for the almost two years separating their births, people would swear that she and Jaune were twins. Her tirade continued, "You know what I noticed? When I'm _not_ in the truck, you never have that thing out. Are you trying to poison my nose?"

"What can I say? It always makes for interesting conversation when you're here, so I can't help but break it out for you." A fist met with his shoulder playfully. They had one of those sibling relationships where they teased each other over anything they could without any venom in their thoughts. Jaune responded to the punch by rubbing her head, which Olive allowed with a grumble. She was sweet when she wanted to be, promise.

Making it to their destination, Jaune found a spot to park and shut off the truck. Retrieving an item from behind his seat, he and Olive opened a nearby gate and went through it. As they walked on the designated cobblestone path, they stayed quiet and observed the many small tablets and stone memorials they passed by, counting the number of rows they crossed until they reached their goal. Not that they actually needed to count, mind you; they had the path burned into their memory, the same way that all of the Arc family did.

Eventually, they came upon a single plaque that lay flat on the ground. The words, etched in gold print, were simple.

 _Nicholas Miles Arc_

 _A Father. A Hero._

 _'The only way for evil to win is for good men to do nothing.'_

Beneath those words was the emblem of the Vale Police Department. It was symbol to respect for most people, but Jaune couldn't help feeling angry at the sight of it. What had they done when his dad died? 'Sorry to hear that your husband and father of eight kids died protecting innocent civilians. We'll cover the funeral, no worries. Oh, you want to receive his pension and insurance like you're supposed to? No can do! I guess he should've died on-duty rather than off-duty!'

His mom had long since abandoned her righteous indignation in favor of moving forward. Jaune had focused on his work, too, but to him the Council of Vale's attitude still felt like salt in the wound. Why did him being in uniform matter when he still died doing his job?

Olive approached the grave first, setting a few flowers down and kneeling on the grass in front of it. Jaune deliberately hung back and tuned her out when she began speaking; what Olive had to say was between her and their father. A few minutes later, once the one-sided conversation was finished, she stood up from her spot and wiped the grass off her jeans. As she walked past him, much more reserved than she typically was, she said, "I'll be in the truck, Jaune."

He simply nodded and let her go, taking that moment to set his own bouquet by the plaque. The wind picked up for a moment, swirling the Autumn leaves around him. "Hey, dad. Long time no see. Remember how I told you last time that I was working at Vermilion's new restaurant? That's going pretty well for her. It turns out that culinary school really can work wonders for people."

Jaune let out a chuckle. "All of us kids keep thinking back to when she was first shoving food down our throats as 'experiments'. Like night and day, I swear. She loves it, though, and I've gotta say that she's a good boss. Maybe one day she'll make it a chain. That'd be pretty awesome..."

The wind finally settled, leaving Jaune as the only thing around making noise. "This weekend I've got, uh... well, it's more or less a date. I've been talking to this girl online for a while and she suggested that we meet up. Cardin's betting that it's really a guy, though. I took that bet; it might be the easiest forty lien I ever make. Even if he's right, gods forbid since he'll never let me live it down, it'll be great to meet them in person as friends. And if I'm right and it's a girl, well, that would just be great."

"Dad, I... I've missed you these last four years. They say it gets easier with time, but that's a load of bull. I still hear mom crying when she thinks no one else is home. Still, we're taking it day by day. Life goes on, and there are still mouthes to feed. I can't believe you managed eight kids on a sergeant's salary." He reached down to wipe the sand and cut grass from the plaque, letting the silence drag on for a minute. Comfortable that his father must've heard him so far, Jaune bowed his head to finish the monologue. "Next year I'll be eighteen, so I'll bring you some cigarettes. The brand you actually liked, of course. Oh, and the others will be here over the weekend; Olive and I just wanted to get it done a few days early. Goodbye, dad. It's been good to talk."

Another breeze was the only response Jaune got, but that was just fine with him. As far as he was concerned, the wind meant his message had gotten through. He jogged back to the truck, where a subdued Olive waited for him to drive her home.

A few hours later...

"Thanks again for giving me your Saturday shift, man." Cardin and Jaune were sitting in break room, both off of the clock and getting ready to go home. Cardin continued speaking, even as he removed his apron and put on a light jacket. "Boss lady almost never lets me work the floor, so getting the chance to do it on the busiest day of the week? Good stuff."

"Don't worry about it, I just figured you of all people would get tired of working as a line chef all the time. I'm gonna be here anyways, just as a customer instead of a worker." Jaune shrugged his shoulders at Cardin's earnest thanks. The two of them hadn't always had a cordial friendship; back in freshmen year, Cardin had actually been his personal bully. That'd gone on for a few months until Jaune eventually lost his cool and swung back at his aggressor. Most of the spectators had expected 'Jauney boy' to be a pushover, but he actually managed to keep the fight relatively even until the teachers showed up.

They both got a two weeks of detention for the public stunt, naturally. Jaune could never figure out why, but Cardin had honestly settled down after getting his face hit a few good times.

Maybe he gave him a concussion on top of the bruises? Who knows.

Cardin leaned forward and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I know you and I have that bet going on about your little friend, but I've gotta ask for a favor, man."

"Oh?" Jaune played along and closed the distance in the same way. "And what's that, Cardin?"

"If it does turn out to be a hot chick, can you slide me her number?"

Jaune grinned. "Not a chance."

Cardin gave him a light shove as they walked out together. The chat continued until they reached the parking lot, where they said their farewells and drove off into the night. Cardin's words reminded Jaune once more of the tense meeting-to-be, giving him a slight case of the jitters. When he got home, Jaune made sure to check his app's messages.Crystal had sent him a 'good night' message that he happily replied to before turning over and getting to his guitar once more. Saturday was gonna be a good day, he could just feel it.

X

 **Famous last words, am I right?**

 **This was the final 'introductory' chapter, I assure you. I hope you enjoyed this little bit, but I need to get working on 'Charismatic Gamer'. If anybody has song suggestions for Pyrrha and Ren to ask Jaune to sing in said story, _please PM me._ My delaying that decision is now causing me physical harm.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** **Enjoy.**

X

 **Saturday - Weiss**

Weiss got up that morning to her alarm, as was her routine; what was _not_ in that normal routine was feeling so groggy from a relative lack of sleep that she rolled off of the bed and smacked her face on the floor.

Now alert, and red in the face from the impact, she went to her personal bathroom and washed her face in order to wipe away what exhaustion she could. Once that was done she gave herself a look over in the mirror.

 _'This is it,'_ she thought. _'I'm finally going to meet the elusive Crescent. Will he... accept me as I am? Will he see Weiss, or will he see Schnee?'_

The difference was crucial to her. Far too many people had approached her seeking her money or her connections. She'd stay 'Crystal' forever if she could, but Crescent was a Beacon student as well: trying to lie about her actual name would be pointless.

 _'Look at me: a complete nervous wreck all because I'm going to be meeting with a boy. Oh, if Winter could see me right now...'_

She couldn't, naturally. Winter was far too busy in the Atlesian military for visits to Vale these days. The Schnee family (and by extension the Company) had been in Atlas until a few years ago when Jacques decided to move for "tax purposes." Weiss knew enough about the business to understand that Atlas's rougher conditions and consequent reliance on the importation of food meant that the other countries could essentially control the prices put on any product.

Outside of electricity, the SEC was involved in coal mining and Jacques had never been okay with the concept of other people being in control of a situation.

Winter had just come of age when Jacques announced the move; but rather than allow him to simply control her in another country, she enlisted in military and took the reins of her own life. Her older sister was fond of order and discipline, allowing her to shoot through the ranks as she demonstrated a keen tactical mind to her superiors. If she were to be honest with herself, Weiss was envious of her sister. She'd managed to disobey their father and get herself a career in one fell swoop. But Weiss did not see herself doing well in any military, nor did she have an alternate career path readily available; thus, she was confined to her fate as heiress of the SEC.

Shaking her head to reorient herself, Weiss dressed herself in her casual wear and got ready for the day. As she opened the door to her bedroom, she found Klein outside of it with one hand up as if to knock. The butler immediately retracted his hand and offered her a warm smile. "Good morning, my dear Weiss. How are you faring today?"

"I'm well, Klein. Thank you." She returned the smile gladly. "Do you recall what I said about this evening?"

"I do, indeed. You need to be at the Vermilion Garden by five O' clock, but shouldn't be needing a ride home as your escort has promised that he'll drive you once you're done for the day." Klein chuckled as they began to walk to the dining room together. "I must confess that it feels peculiar to be dropping you off for a date. Perhaps I can see the young man and play the role of the overprotective uncle?"

"Klein! I said that it isn't a date!" Her blushing face betrayed her; she knew as well as Klein did what the situation was and looked like. She took a moment to collect herself, and then said, "Please ensure that Whitley and my father do not hear of this. The last thing I need is to hear a lecture about 'fraternizing with undesirables' again."

"Of course. I will exercise utmost caution. For now, however, I believe that breakfast is ready."

After breakfast, the bulk of Weiss's day was filled with the coursework that she'd be missing on Wednesday; which, thankfully, was mostly just reading ahead. The Battle on Anima's plains, a new Statistics formula... And yet, somehow, she still had to sit through Port's class live that day. _Lovely._

4:30 P.M. rolled around and Weiss was giving herself one last look over. The outfit that she and Yang had settled on was a white one-piece dress that combined a jacket with a skirt. The trim and decorative buttons were black, and she was wearing white heels that went up to her knees. Yang had affectionately referred to it as her "Snowpea" outfit, but she failed to see the significance of naming a piece of clothing like so. Nodding in approval at her own make-up and overall appearance, she made her way to the front where Klein awaited with the car.

Weiss realized her nerves had returned once more when she caught her heel tapping the bottom of the car at a rather rapid pace. Klein noticed the noise, but refrained from commenting so as to let her keep what composure she had left.

They arrived five minutes ahead of the scheduled meeting time and Weiss got out of the car at the far end of the parking lot, not wanting the expensive car to be the first impression they got from her. Straightening out her skirt, she held her own single white rose in front of her, it being the proof of their identity upon introduction.She breathed in deep, let it out, and walked slowly towards the restaurant. As she approached she initially failed to see anybody outside, but as she got close she could spy a head of blond hair over the top of a car. She used said car as cover and got a good look at the boy sitting on a bench.

Her breath caught.

 _'No...'_

It was none other than Jaune Arc, wearing a sapphire-blue button-down shirt and black pants. He had his hair styled in a part and was bouncing one of his legs up-and-down in apparent nervousness.

And he was holding a single white rose in his hands.

Weiss rapidly ducked and turned around, holding her face in her hands. This was the one of the _worst_ possible results there could've been. Jaune, the buffoon, had been perhaps the single most persistent of the many glory-seeking males around. His goofy pick-up lines and serenades had been all the proof she needed of his clearly less-than-honorable intentions. How could somebody like _him_ be her beloved Crescent-

Crescent.

Arc.

 _'How did I_ miss _that connection!?'_ She felt like sinking further into the pavement, but she focused once more and took another glance at him. It appeared that he hadn't noticed her, as his eyes flickered back-and-forth between the rose he held and the parking lot. As stealthily as she could, she retreated from the restaurant and sought refuge behind a large, decorative tree just between the parking lot of the restaurant and the adjacent Vale Mall.

Before she even realized it, she had her phone out and was fiddling with it. What was she doing with it, she wondered; calling someone, obviously. But who, and for what purpose?

As she flicked through her contacts, only one thing was clear: she refused to give Arc the time of day, regardless of their online interactions. But...

 _'Why does this hurt so much...'_ Her expectations had been betrayed. She sought a friend and had found a fool.

 _Riiiiing. Riiiiing. Rii_ \- _"Weiss? What's up?"_ Neptune's voice came out of the speaker, surprise laced throughout it. What could she say? That he was just the first person her finger had landed on?

"Hello, Neptune." She spoke slowly, feeling out the words as she put them together. "I know this is terribly last-minute, but... do you still have those tickets to the play?"

 **Saturday - Jaune**

"I swear that you're worse than any woman in this family, Jaune. You look perfectly fine, alright!?"

"I guess so." Jaune did yet another three-sixty in the mirror, looking over every inch of himself for the umpteenth time. It was a simple outfit, a blue shirt with black pants. "Are you sure that I shouldn't-"

Olive threw a pillow and smacked the back of his head. "If you suggest wearing a tie again, it'll be my foot next time. You two agreed on casual-nice, so here you are. Ta-daaa!"

Jaune rolled his eyes as she did an exaggerated "jazz hands". The day had been rather good for him, getting his literature assignment done before focusing on his attire. Olive had agreed to help him straighten himself up. It wasn't out of the kindness of her heart, but rather that he kept fretting about himself out loud and she (and the rest of their family) had gotten fed up with it. Looking at his clock, he noted the time to be 4:15. "Alright, I'm gonna roll out now."

"Now?" Olive glanced at the same clock. "You'll be there pretty early leaving now."

"Better to be early. Wouldn't you be mad if someone you'd agreed to meet was late?"

"True, very true."

Together, they went down the hallway stairs and into their living room where their mother sat staring at one of the many photographs lining the wall. Juniper Arc was feeling pretty well that day, so when the pair appeared she stood up and took her son's face in her hands with motherly glee. "Oh, you look so much like your father right now. I bet this Crystal girl won't be able to take her eyes off of you."

"Aren't you obligated to say stuff like that?" Jaune smiled and let his mother do her thing. Juniper Arc had thin brown hair and blue eyes. Usually she looked frail and gaunt, but that day she seemed to be positively brimming with energy. Far be it from him to spoil her mood by denying her motherly affections. He stuck his tongue out playfully when she started to pinch his cheeks. "I feel like a baby again."

"Of course you do, because you'll always be my baby." She released his cheeks regardless and grabbed the important white rose from a nearby vase. Pressing it gently into his palm, she pulled him in for a hug. "Have fun tonight, honey. Everything will be great."

"Thanks, Mom." He returned the gesture before retrieved his keys from the table. A brief look around the house made him pause. "Where are the others, anyway?"

"They're all spending the night over at friends' houses," answered Olive. "You've been going on-and-on about Crystal so much that we're all scared about how you'll act after you actually meet her."

"Come on, I haven't been that bad. Right?" Neither Olive nor Juniper looked him in the eye. A moment of complete silence passed as he waited for any kind of response, the truth of his attitude the past week slowly starting to sink in. "...I am so sorry."

"As long as you know, big bro." She gave him a playful shove towards the front door. "Now go have fun... but not too much fun!"

"Yes, because I clearly have a history of sleeping around. I'll see you two later tonight." With a wave goodbye he was out the door and on his way to the Vermilion Garden. It felt a little weird to not be in his work uniform, but that feeling was soon overtaken by his nerves.

 _'Oh, man. I really,_ really _hope today goes well. Do I look okay? Does my breath smell fine!?'_ He did a quick breath into his palm. _'...I think I'm okay. Just be cool, Jaune; be confident! But not too confident, you don't wanna come off as a tool.'_

He'd heard from Cardin how everybody had looked at him after the Weiss incident. He thought he'd been romantic, but most of the student body had been frowning or laughing at his shenanigans. The only thing everyone (including Ren, Nora, and Pyrrha) had agreed on was that he wasn't a bad singer or anything like that, just... not at all taken seriously with his personally written lyrics.

 _Weiss Schneeee, will you accompany meeee~_ Jaune shivered in his seat. Never again would he ask someone out with a song he wrote.

Pulling into the parking lot at 4:45, he shut off the truck and strolled inside, whistling an unnamed jaunty tune to himself. Cardin, already present and working on the floor, heard his blonde friend enter and barely kept from rolling his eyes. Once he finished taking the order of the table he was at, he approached Jaune from the side. "Table for two, I assume."

"You assume correctly!" They shared a chuckle and quick fistbump. "I just wanted to make sure everything was okay in here before I sat myself on the outside bench."

"Boss lady said she wanted to see you, but otherwise we're good."

Jaune nodded and made his way to the kitchen, where Vermilion was barking out orders to the line cooks. When she spotted her brother walking in, she set her knife down to give him a hug. "You're early! Just like I taught you to be."

"Honestly, how could I forget when you pounded it into my head?" Vermilion Arc was the only one of his sisters to dye her hair, a sharp red to match her name. She used to keep her hair at waist length, but admitted that it got in the way while she cooked and settled for just past shoulder length these days. "Cardin said you needed something?"

"I just wanted to remind you to treat this girl like a woman and not some floozy." She finally let go and gave him a bit of space. "No girl wants to be treated like a piece of meat. Nice rose, by the way."

"I know, and thanks. I'll be the best gentleman I can be. And now," Jaune raised his pointer finger dramatically, "I'm off to meet the myste~rious Crystal!"

The kitchen erupted in laughter as he spun on his heel and departed, quickly slipping onto the only bench available and awaiting his unknown date.

5:00 P.M.

Jaune was practically bouncing in his seat, eyes scanning any customers for a matching white rose. Some of the restaurant regulars recognized him and engaged him in polite conversation as they waited for a table.

5:30 P.M.

He connected his phone to the Garden's wi-fi and checked the Beacon app for any missed messages. There weren't any. Stowing it away, he comforted his heart that she must just be running a bit late.

6:00 P.M.

A little girl sitting in a nearby window seat was staring at him curiously, pointing at him and seemingly asking her parents why the blond boy was outside all alone. When Jaune met her eyes he gave her a friendly wave that she returned before her mother gently turned her attention back to the table.

6:30 P.M.

Some of those same regulars that had greeted him earlier were departing, and while they didn't say a word outside of "have a good night", Jaune could practically feel the pity oozing out of them. He held his tongue and checked his phone again.

7:00 P. M.

Somebody stood next to where Jaune was sitting, blocking the beam of the outside lights and causing him to look up. Cardin was there, and after a moment of silence the burlier boy gently clapped a hand onto his left shoulder. "The boss has some food waiting for you."

"...Five more minutes." With a nod of acknowledgment, he was left alone with his thoughts.

 _'I hope... that she's okay.'_

After the promised five minutes, Jaune stood up to go inside, leaving the white rose on the bench in case Crystal arrived while he was inside. He wasn't sure what the message would mean if she saw it.

None of the other workers said a word to him, not used to seeing Jaune in an almost morose state. To them, he was almost unapproachable while he slowly ate his provided food. When he finally finished eating and brought his plate to the kitchen to get cleaned, Vermilion was angrily chopping at some carrots at one of the line cooks stations. Jaune knew that she was angry for his sake, because he himself wasn't particularly mad. He was just...

Disappointed.

 **Yang**

That Sunday morning was crisp with the fall air, the breeze running through her hair as she jogged once more across the bridge. Idly, she pondered how she should approach the topic of Jaune's date the previous night. _''Did you have fun, loverboy, or was it a little Weiss-y?' No, maybe more like 'So, did you manage to thaw the ice queen's heart a little bit?''_

She could already see Jaune's face in her mind, making frantic gestures as he shared the story of hour. Or week, depending on how well it went. Maybe they'd get along well enough that everybody could sit at the same lunch table for once; she did so enjoy Nora's energy contrasting with Ren's relatively stoic nature.

As she approached Jaune's house, however, she felt the atmosphere around her grow stiff and stale.

And quiet... far, far too quiet. Was he not singing? She kept the same jogging pace, but couldn't deny that sense of dread she was feeling as she rounded the corner. Something was _wrong._

As she turned to face his front porch her heart fell into her stomach. Jaune was sitting on the top step with his head down and his arms crossed over his knees. His guitar was leaning against the wall behind him, a green pick stuck between the cords and neck. When her shoes crunched on the gravel of their yard he looked up and gave her a smile. It was weak. Fake. "Hey there, Yang. How's it hanging?"

"Don't you mean how's it _yanging_?" The pun sounded dead even to her ears, but Jaune did her the courtesy of a chuckle. She quickly decided to drop the charade. "What's wrong, Jaune?"

"Nothing really, I'm just a little under the weather." He smiled again, but Yang simply crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, letting him know without a word that she wasn't buying it. He relented and let the facsimile disappear. "Crystal, uh... she didn't show up yesterday. I waited for tw- for a while, but she never came. I'm positive she just had something come up."

 _'Weiss didn't show up? That isn't like her_.The thought made Yang frown. She also caught the 'two' part and stored that info away. "Did she send you a message online?"

"Not yet." Jaune pulled out his phone and flicked through a few screens. Apparently finding nothing, he shook his head and put it away. "She'll probably send me something before too long. Whenever family stuff pops up she tends to be hard to reach."

"Hmm." She couldn't confirm or deny that, being a little out of the loop about any of Weiss's family drama. That would have to change. She opened her mouth to respond, but as she did so Jaune stood up and grabbed his guitar. "Are you headed in to work?"

Jaune didn't quite meet her eyes. "No, my sis gave me the day off since she figured I wouldn't be in a good enough mood to serve customers. Bad for business to upset the clientele, you know. I'm just gonna... be inside today. Later, Yang."

Time seemed to slow down as he started to open his front door. There was a part of her that knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she needed to do something for him. Her mother's words rang through her head. _'Be the best friend that you can be._

A hand shot forward and grabbed the wrist of the hand he had the guitar in. Jaune turned slightly and finally looked at her, one brow raised in surprise. "Yang?"

Her heart hammered inside of her chest as she spoke. "If you aren't working today, how about we hang out for a while?" Oddly, her confidence began building as she continued talking. "No, scratch that. We _are_ hanging out today, because Yang Xiao Long does not simply let a friend sit around depressed and not move to fix it."

"Depressed? I'm not-" The words seemed to die in his throat as he regarded her. Jaune seemed to grasp that Yang Xiao Long would not be denied today under any circumstances. _'Good_.

Jaune held his free hand to his face for a moment in what could've been a facepalm, but seemed to bounce back and offered the first genuine smile she saw today, even if it was a miniscule one. "Has anybody ever told you that you're bossy?"

"Yes, but you have seven sisters and therefore have no reason to be surprised about that." She returned his smile and let his hand go. "Outside of music, is there anything particular that you like doing in your free time?"

He took a moment to think about that. "Video games, naturally, but nothing else springs to mind."

Yang's smile turned into a smirk. "Perfect."

X

 **People like drama, right? It's fun stuff, wholesome even! I think.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** **Me: But Muse, I really need to get to Charismatic Gamer!**

 **Muse: Hush, you! I'm focused on this one, so get writing!**

X

"So let me get this straight." Olive's tone couldn't have possibly been any drier as she stood in his doorway with her arms crossed. "Something bad happened with that 'Crystal' girl last night that you won't share with Mom or me, but you _were_ willing to explain to Yang..."

"I actually wanted to talk to Mom about it," countered Jaune, "but she was asleep when I got back and hasn't woken up yet."

"...and now Yang is taking you on a pity date? I may not have a lot of dating experience, Jaune, but this seems weird to me."

He nodded in acknowledgement of her thinking as he grabbed a brown jacket from the closet. "I can see what you mean, Olive; but while I don't know what Yang's plan for today is, she made it clear that this was just a 'friend cheering up a friend' thing. Would you rather be the one putting up with, well, me?"

"I've spent all of our years together as the more mature sibling. I suppose I can pass the reins of 'Jaune-picker-upper' for a day." A small smile made its way onto her lips. "Just be safe with whatever it is you two do."

"Not gonna tell me to 'not have too much fun' again?"

"You were acting all mopey before Yang came by this morning. By all means, have fun." She finally dropped her arms and stepped to the side so that he could exit his room. "But you _will_ tell Mom and I what happened later."

"Promise." He held up his right hand with his fingers spaced like Spock from Star Trek, a gesture which Olive returned. They'd adopted the move years ago and transformed it into their version of a pinky promise. It was silly by any standard, really, but they couldn't help having a similar taste in media. The way Jaune saw it, Olive really was his twin sister that just so happened to be born two years later. Once they dropped their hands, he went outside and met up with a patiently waiting Yang to take her to her house.

The conversation during the drive was light, mainly him probing her for information and her dodging the questions. Following her directions, they eventually pulled up to a two-story house that was a little bit smaller than the Arc household. The paint was a light-brown all around save for the white door. She invited him to come inside while she got ready, the invitation being a thinly veiled order rather than a request, so he dutifully followed her in and took his shoes off in the entryway. Humorously enough, the Xiao Long household felt familiar despite the fact that he'd never been there before. Warm colors greeted him, with smiling faces popping out of picture frames, each one promising its own unique story. Quite frankly, it felt like his own home: lived in and loved.

As he took a seat on the spacious sofa, Yang disappeared into the kitchen for a moment before returning with a glass of water. "Here you go. I'd offer you a glass of milk instead, but we only have enough this morning for Ruby's cereal and I don't think either one of us want to be on the receiving end of her puppy dog eyes."

Jaune took the glass and sipped off of it. "Nah, I'm good with water, thanks. Like you mentioned earlier, I have seven sisters; I consider myself immune to little sister pleading."

Yang raised a finger with a 'tut.' "Her look is super effective, almost scarily so with her silver eyes. You be careful not to have your cookies stolen around her. Now, I'm going to go shower, so be a good boy and wait for me."

He rolled his eyes, something he seemed to be doing a lot these days. "I'll be the goodest boy and sit right here."

Yang gave a small laugh as she disappeared, leaving Jaune to sink into the cushions as he kept drinking. He was still feeling the sting from the night before, but Yang had made it clear that her self-appointed job was to cheer him up; and, to his surprise, it was already starting to work a little. There still wasn't any anger in his heart, just confusion and overall moodiness.

Before he could mull around in his thoughts for much longer, the sound of footsteps alerted him to a nearby doorway. A woman with red-tipped brunette hair was smiling warmly at him, and for a brief moment he wondered if Ruby and Yang had an older sister they hadn't told him about. Wearing a t-shirt and jeans, she approached him and held her hand out. "Yang told me we had a guest today. I'm Summer Rose, her mother."

 _'Well, that answers **that** question.'_ Jaune returned the handshake, noting that she had a strong grip. "I'm Jaune Arc; it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am."

She gave a soft snort. "Call me Summer, please. Ma'am makes me feel old or like I'm on the job, and today's my day off. Although..." Summer eyed him curiously as she released the handshake. "Why does that name sound familiar...?"

The last sentence was spoken more to herself than to him, so he remained silent until she shrugged her shoulders and resumed smiling. "Oh well. So, can I assume that you're the boy my daughter's been seeing for some time now?"

The phrasing made him stutter a bit. "W-we aren't dating or anything, but she's been coming by on most Sundays to listen to me sing a bit. If, uh, if that's okay."

"Of course It's okay! There's nothing with hanging out with friends." A sudden loud _thump_ came from directly above their heads, causing Summer to sigh. "And that would be Qrow falling out of bed again. Pardon me while I fetch him."

Jaune was bemused at the thought of a pet crow habitually falling from its perch, but a minute later discovered that Summer had been talking about a person. The disheveled man had gray hair and was wearing a gray button-down shirt that wasn't quite buttoned up all the way. Slowly, he dragged himself to sit on a nearby recliner while Summer fetched an ice pack for some swelling he had over his eye. Rather than simply handing the pack to him, she thrust it onto his face, eliciting a groan from him before he held it with his own left hand. "Was that really necessary, Sum?"

"Yes," she sniped back. "Why I let you convince Tai to install a hammock in the guest bedroom I'll never know, because you've fallen out of it every time you crash here. When are you going to learn to not roll out of bed with a hangover?"

"Probably when my liver finally fails." 'Qrow' laughed to himself before finally noticing Jaune's presence. "Who're you, kid?"

"Jaune Arc, nice to meet you." He rose from his seat and approached Qrow, offering him a handshake.

Qrow didn't take it; instead, his red eyes went wide as he looked Jaune over from head-to-toe. A look of recognition shot onto his face before he promptly covered it with his free hand. " _S_ _hit._ "

"QROW!" Summer punched him in the arm as Jaune recoiled from the man's tone. "What's the matter with you? This boy is our guest!"

"Nothing's wrong, I just-" Qrow cut himself off, sighing before sticking his own right hand out for a shake. "Sorry, kid. You haven't done anything, I just... remembered something. The name's Qrow. I'm Ruby and Yang's uncle."

Jaune shook it with trepidation, not quite sure what to make of the clearly hungover man. Before he could speak, Qrow leaned back in his chair and said, "So, how old are you Jaune?"

"Seventeen, why?"

"I see." He scratched a bit at his light beard. "When you turn eighteen, let me know. I'll take you out to a bar and show you what it's like to drink."

 _'First he cusses at the sound of my name, then he offers to buy me drinks? This is bizarre.'_ He mentally shrugged. "I appreciate the offer. It won't be until next August, sorry to say."

"That's a shame. Still, if you're hanging out with the family we'll get the chance to talk sometime." With that said, he pulled a lever on the chair and the foot cushion shot up, allowing him to prop his feet up and relax. When Jaune turned to Summer and mouthed ' _Is this normal?'_ , she silently replied ' _kind of_ ' and gestured for him to follow her to the kitchen.

As he made to follow, a red blur rushed down the stairs and cut him off; Ruby nearly tripped on his foot in the process, causing her to stumble for a moment until she found her balance. As she turned to face him she started to shout, "Hey, why'd you trip me Yan-"

She stopped as her brain processed his appearance. "De~efinitely not Yang. How's it going, Jaune?"

"Could be better," he said with a shrug. "Your sister kidnapped me today."

"That's a shame. I'll make sure she includes cookies as a demand in the ransom note." She smiled as she went about pouring herself a bowl of cereal. Due to being two years apart in age and classes he hadn't gotten to know Ruby particularly well, but he felt that they'd gotten along the few times they talked. After she sat down at the kitchen counter and took her first bite, savoring its sugary goodness, she looked back at him and asked, "So you're hanging out with Yang today?"

"Pretty much. Don't ask me what we're doing, 'cause I have no clue. I'm thinking that I might wind up as the box and bag carrier at some point."

"Hey, if you're offering!" Yang popped up from behind him, now wearing brown shorts and a cropped shirt-and-jacket top that showed off a bit of skin. Jaune did his best to ignore the scent of her lavender shampoo. "I do need a new helmet for riding my motorcycle, but outside of that we aren't doing any shopping today."

Jaune shifted to let her into the kitchen, it starting to feel a bit cramped now. "Oh really? And what, pray tell, is the grand master plan for the day?"

"All in due time, my fellow blonde. Are you ready to go?"

"Yep," he said as he sat his glass down on the counter. "It was nice to meet you, Ma- Summer."

"I caught that." She pointed an accusatory finger at him before smiling again. "Take care of my daughter, okay?"

"I will."

- **Yang** -

Still feeling proud of how quick her shower went since they usually took a while, Yang said farewell to Ruby and Summer and exitted the kitchen. As she approached the front door, however, her uncle Qrow made his presence known. "Can I talk to you for a sec, firecracker?"

Being closer to the front door, Jaune looked back at her and said, "I'll be waiting in the truck. Take your time."

"I'll be there soon," she replied with a nod. She stepped back into the living room and looked down at Qrow, who'd removed the ice pack he was wearing and was looking out the door where Jaune had just been. "What's up? Giving me a 'be careful around guys' speech?"

"Nah, nothing like that." He finally met her eyes, and what she saw there concerned her. She expected to find 'protective uncle' mode, but instead found something that was approaching... sorrow. "That kid there, Jaune... How's his family doing?"

"They're alright, I guess." Yang couldn't figure out where the conversation was going. "Jaune works to help with the food and bills around the house since his mom can't do full-time work."

"I figured as much. Listen, I know this sounds weird coming from me, but if he or his family need anything and you find out about it, let me know." Qrow sighed into the ice pack he was holding. "I knew his dad before he died, so... yeah."

She was surprised to hear that bit of info, to say the least. Her family being in touch with his before she had been? It was strange to think about, but it also raised a fair amount of questions. "What happened to his dad, anyways?"

Qrow seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head. "Not my place to say if he hasn't told you. Just take care of yourself and him today, alright?"

"Will do." She gave him a pat on the back, hoping that whatever was bothering him about Jaune settled down. When she made it out to the truck, Jaune was already bobbing his head along to some rock music. He still wasn't singing along, but she figured that he'd be better after they hung out for a while.

She gave him the route to the bike store and they drove off, sitting in relative silence as Creed gave way to Shinedown over the speakers, which were linked to Jaune's phone. Yang wanted to strike up a conversation about music, but quickly realized that, outside of the pop songs that came on sometimes and the classics that everyone and their momma's have listened to, she didn't know much in the way of music. It also didn't help that she wasn't really talented in it; she could follow a beat just fine, but singing or actually putting an instrument in her hands... let's just say that it always led to jeers instead of cheers. _'After all this time I've spent listening to him, you'd think I would've taken some time to practice so I could sing along.'_

Just one more thing that'd have to change. May it never be said that Yang Xiao Long was lazy regarding her friendships.

Sooner rather than later, they pulled up to a dinky shop that had a number of motorcycles parked under an open-air carport, prices taped to the front lights of each one. Making there way inside, there was an older man with brown hair pulled back into a ponytail behind the counter. He smiled at the sight of them and said, "Welcome back, Yang. You're my first customer today, so I'm already having a good day."

"Aw, you're just a big flirt, Coral." This was their usual routine, it being the older man's way of increasing sales with his female customers. "I'm just here for a helmet today."

Coral pointed to the back wall, where a selection of helmets were clearly on display. "Knock yourselves out. Let me know if you don't find a style you like."

Yang immediately starting comparing helmets, examining the backs to see how they'd treat her hair. Jaune looked over the selection passively. "Should I be surprised that you have a motorcycle, Yang? It seems pretty... you, for lack of a better word."

"That just shows how well you know me, Jaune. I'm a thrill seeker at heart, so me having a bike is like a bird having wings." Finding a semi-decent one, she pulled her hair back and put it on. Flipping the visor up, she grinned and asked, "How do I look?"

It was green, with an almost oval front and airholes along the jawline. Jaune cupped his chin thoughtfully. "Not your color, but the style's good."

"I'm gonna spray paint it anyways, so it's all good." Yanking (Yanging?) it off of her head, she looked at the price tag and nodded to herself. Not cheap, but manageable. She grabbed an unopened box of the same model and took it to the counter. A few minutes later, they were back inside of the truck and putting the new helmet behind her seat. "Alright, Jaune. it's time for our true destination. Let's head over to Level Up!"

"Level Up?" He tilted his head as he started up the truck. "Where is it and what is it? It sounds like an arcade to me."

"Close, but no cigar. You'll find out ve~ry soon, though! Head down Broad street, and then make a right onto 12th. I'll point it out as we approach."

Level Up turned out to be in a little strip mall right next to a dry cleaner. Yang led the way once more, opening the door and holding it for him to enter. The interior was deceptively big, with rows of tv's not far off of the ground and a rather slim chair in front of each one. Playstation 4s were seen in one grouping of tv's, Xbox ones in the other. In the middle of the building were two larger tv's mounted on the wall with sofas strategically placed around then. In the back-left was a single row of computers, and to the right was a pool table.

It was amazing to behold, and Yang saw Jaune's jaw hang open a bit. _'Perfect.'_

Near the front, a dapper looking man with red hair and a bowler cap greeted them with a cane. "Welcome to Level Up, home to the latest and greatest of games and entertainment. And welcome back to you, Yang. You do realize that I _just_ opened up today, right?"

"All the better so you don't waste electricity, Roman. And I brought a new customer, so why are you even complaining?"

"Meh, it's Neo's fault. She's been griping at me about keeping the freezer stocked up with ice cream." He shrugged and grabbed a paper, passing it to Jaune who accepted it numbly. "Nice to meet ya, kid. The name's Roman Torchwick, and that paper is the terms and agreements page for using my little playground. I promise, it's your typical 'you accept responsibility for breaking things' deal. Print here, sign there."

Jaune looked it over and signed it after finding nothing unusual. Roman received it and filed the paper in a drawer. "Thank you. So you know how this works, you can either pay for a certain number of hours or buy an all day pass. The 'all day' comes with some pizza that I order later on in the day, otherwise you can purchase snacks and drinks from the fridge right behind you. There's a list of all the games I own right there on the wall, so just tell me what you wanna play and I'll slide you the disc and controller."

Yang pulled out her wallet and forked over some Lien. "Two all day passes, please."

Jaune turned to protest, "You don't have to pay for me, Yang."

"Ah, but I do my friend!" She grinned at him and pulled the list out of its place on the wall. "I invited you here to cheer you up. There's no point in me doing that if I leave you broke, not counting food, of course. Now go through this stack of papers and find something we can play together."

An hour later, they were throwing down in Battlefield, running and gunning on the questionably historic fields of Mistral. Two hours later, Jaune had discovered the "Project Diva" line of games from Sega and had devoted himself to perfecting at least one song while Yang watched on in amusement.

Three hours later, they'd been joined by two dear friends...

"Nora. Nora, no. I've been leaving you alone in your little perch, I'm not bothering you!"

"I'm sorry, Jaune-Jaune, but I have a rocket launcher and you're flying a Banshee. This is how it's meant to be!"

 _Boom!_

"Damnit! Do you know how much effort I went to in order to hijack that from Ren!?"

"You're welcome," snarked Ren from his chair. Yang had to set her controller to the side as she laughed at her friends' antics. While the duo's appearance had been a surprise it certainly hadn't been unwelcome, and the fact that Jaune was now relaxed enough to weep over losing a Banshee in Halo meant that he was far better off than he was that morning. Apparently, Ren and Nora had been coming to Level Up for over a month, and had actually invited Jaune there a couple of times (not that he remembered them.)

A grand total of four hours and fifteen minutes after their arrival, Jaune and Yang finally saw fit to wrap up for the day. As they breached the open air, Jaune zipped his jacket up to his neck. "Geez, you know it's November when it's cold in the middle of the day. I can't understand how you aren't freezing, Yang."

"It's because I'm naturally smokin' hot, Jaune!" She spun around slowly to emphasize her figure. Jaune laughed, _actually_ laughed at her, which brought a smile to her lips. "Really, though, I just handle the cold better than you. Come January, I'll be bundled up just like everybody else. That's what happens when you're an athlete: you run warmer than others."

"I see, so Pyrrha must be the same way, then." He opened the truck and they both hopped inside, and as he got it going he gave a sound of contentment. "Thanks for all of that, Yang. I really needed a distraction today."

"That's what friends do, Jaune." She gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze and ignored the un-friendly grip that hit her heart. "Let's get you home, I'm sure the family will want you around for dinner."

"That's a safe assumption." As they rolled out of the parking lot, Yang took comfort in that she'd done one of the things she'd set out to do. Come the next day, she was diving headfirst into her next problem: figuring out what happened on Weiss's end.

X

 **You may be thinking that Jaune is completely over being stood up. He's NOT; Yang's just helped remove the sting from the wound until salt inevitably gets poured into it later.**

 **Weiss returns in the next chapter. See you later!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Enjoy.**

X

 _The sounds were so familiar to her by now..._

 _"All you do with my money these days is drink, woman! Each and every day, you skulk about in the garden drinking your weight in wine!"_

 _Is this what normal is? Hearing your parents argue about whatever issues they deem appropriate for the venue?_

 _Your money? It was **my** father that built the SEC, Jacques! If he hadn't been **stupid** enough to leave the company in your hands, you would have nothing without me!"_

 _Across from her, Whitley was slowly savoring the cup of banana pudding in front of him, more numb to the situation than anything else. What he truly thought of Jacques and Willow fighting at the dinner table on a weekly basis, Weiss would probably never know. If she asked him, he'd probably make a remark about them having finally waited until dessert to start their fight._

 _"Stupid? Under my hands, this company has nearly doubled in size in the past ten years alone! I am the glue that keeps it_ _and_ _this family together!"_

 _Family. Now_ that _is a funny word. What does it even mean? Is it a group of people who love each other enough to die for them? Or is it just a word that signifies being physically related somehow?_

 _Probably the latter._

 _"But what does the Schnee name even mean any more, Jacques?" Idly, Weiss realized she must've missed a few sentences in her pondering. "It used to be associated with honor and forward progression; now, the media sees us as a company that does the bare minimum to avoid infringing on labor laws. A company that forces the many smaller businesses to close their doors because they simply have no way to compete with your predatory business tactics!"_

Crash!

 _Ah, there it was: the first thrown glass of the evening, and her cue to leave. Without making a sound, Weiss vacated her seat and walked out as the fight began to escalate further. Klein, the wonderful man that he was, fell into step beside her. "Madam Weiss-"_

 _She interrupted him with a single hand in the air. Again, this was normal for the Schnee estate. They all knew how it would progress: some glasses and plates would be thrown, the butlers, Klein included, would clean up the mess, and a new set of dishes and appropriate cups would be prepared by the next day. Lather, rinse, repeat._

 _Without a single word more, Klein accompanied her to her bedroom and opened it for her. She muttered a 'thank you' as she walked in, and soon enough she was alone in her room. She'd stopped shedding tears several years ago and, throwing herself onto her bed, sought only to go to sleep when-_

 _Ding!_

 _Slowly, she reached over to where her phone was and turned on the display. It was a message from Crescent; he always did have phenomenal timing, whether he knew it or not._

 _Crescent: Hey, haven't heard from you in a bit. Wanted to check up on you._

 _'It's all a mess,' she thought with a laugh. Not wanting to be rude, she typed out a reply despite lacking anything substantial to say._

 _Crystal: I'm fine._

 _There. That should be reassuring enough for him. It's short, sweet, and rolls off of the tongue._ _Where had she heard that phrase spoken before? Ah, the Arc boy when he first met her. And just like that, she had managed to sour her mood further._

 _Ding!_

 _Crescent: Are you actually fine, or are you f.i.n.e.?_

 _What did that even mean? Her curiosity urged her to ask him that very question, so she did._

 _A moment later._

 _Crescent: **F** reaked out. **I** nsecure. **N** eurotic. **E** motional_

 _As she read and re-read the message, it started to dawn on her that Crescent had somehow pegged her personality solely through written text._ _She wasn't sure how she felt about that at that moment._

 _Crystal: There have been some complications, but I assure you that everything-_

 _She scoffed. The message sounded wooden even to her, and a part of her knew that he wouldn't buy it for even a moment. But what can you tell to a someone like Crescent?_

 _...the truth, maybe?_

 _It was a blasphemous thought: to air her personal issues to somebody she'd never met. But there was a piece of her heart that felt desperate to be seen. Desperate to be acknowledged for what it was and was going through._

 _With a few swipes of her finger, she deleted the original body of text without sending it and started over again. She'd keep it simple this time; simple and honest._

 _Crystal: I'm surrounded by people, but I feel so alone._

 _The few moments between sending that message and receiving the next felt impossibly long, as if Time itself was taunting her. 'Stupid girl,' it said. 'How foolish of you to trust some unknown malcontent who would only have you weak and-'_

 _Ding!_

 _It was with trembling fingers that she pressed the buttons to view the message._

 _Crescent: I want you to look up a song and play it. "She will be loved" by Maroon 5. You're never alone, Crystal._

 _A song. It was a bizarre suggestion to her mind, not the least because of all the time she'd spent learning how to sing and play the piano, only genuinely enjoying the former. Her fingers obeyed regardless of her doubts, and soon enough she found the song on Blutube. She hit 'play.'_

 _Beauty queen of only eighteen / She had some trouble with herself_

 _He was always there to help her / She always belonged to someone else_

 _The first listening had her enthralled, both by the performance and by its message. The final notes had just finished when she set it up to go again._

 _I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door_ / _I've had you so many times but somehow I want more_

 _She shakily hummed along the second time, the notes not being particularly difficult to follow. She did her best to ignore the water forming around her eyes._

 _I don't mind spending every day_ / _Out on your corner in the pouring rain_

 _Look for the girl with the broken smile_ / _Ask her if she wants to stay awhile_

 _By the time the third playthrough finished, she was crying softly into her pillow. She felt overwhelmed over something as simple as a song; it was ridiculous! It was- It was-!_

 _And she will be loved_ / _And she will be loved_

 _Tap on my window, knock on my door_ / _I want to make you feel beautiful_

 _It was liberating. For the first time in a long time, she poured her heart out and let herself cry._

 _Over the course of the next few weeks three plays became a dozen; and from a dozen, two. She actively practiced it in her bedroom. She began talking openly with Crescent more, and when he later admitted to not being in the best of times himself, she imagined herself singing this song for him. To him._

 _Please don't try so hard to say beep beep **beep BEEP BEEP!!!**_

Weiss awoke with a start, her alarm clock unceremoniously making its presence known to the room. Angrily, she grabbed the clock and threw it across the room, slamming the off button as it ricocheted off of the wall. A torrent of emotions swept over her once more, and it took several moments for her to calm down. Grabbing her phone, she read the latest message from "Crescent" again; it had been sent to her late Sunday evening.

 _Crescent: I understand if something came up, Crystal. Just let me know that you're okay, alright?_

It was too late, her mind said to her heart. She'd already said goodbye to Crescent. By not responding to the message, she had already bid farewell to Jaune.

Telling herself that did nothing to relieve the pain in her chest.

As she prepared for the school day, her thoughts drifted to what happened _after_ she left the blonde boy where he sat. Neptune had quickly picked her up from the front of the mall, and together they went to go see "Hamlet." The boy had been a gentleman, and the evening had been pleasant. Quaint. And almost entirely a blur because she hadn't been a hundred percent _there_. Neptune seemed to grasp that fact after a half-hour or so of him trying different conversation starters.

At the end of the night, Neptune drove her home and she was met at the front door by Klein. Her butler seemed to believe that Neptune was her promised escort; it was a misconception she was in no hurry to correct. Wishing Neptune a good night, she'd quickly disappeared into her bedroom to avoid any questions from Klein, who had no doubt sensed that something was wrong.

Dressed and ready for the day, Weiss took a final look in the mirror: she looked to be the poster child for fatigue, what with her shoulders sagging and the excess make-up to cover the bags under her eyes. Hoisting up her satchel, she couldn't help but feel that today would be a very long day.

Before long Klein was driving her to Beacon, the air between them awkward as she stared out of the window. She didn't want to speak to anyone, and prayed that she would be allowed to focus on her schooling in peace.

"He~llo, Weiss Queen! And to you too, Klein!"

And then Yang Xiao Long happened.

As soon as they reached Beacon and Klein opened the car door for her to exit, Yang seemed to materialize out of thin air to greet both of them with a positively chipper voice. Weiss barely refrained from grunting in frustration, while Klein was much more amicable. "Good morning, miss Yang. Did you have a good weekend?"

Yang was positively beaming. "I did, thank you. Would you mind if I talked to Weiss for a bit? I have, like, a million questions for her."

"Of course," he answered. "I was just taking my leave. Madam Weiss, do have a good day."

"Thank you, Klein. I'll see you this afternoon." Resigned to the fact that she would soon be bombarded with questions, she began to walk into the school accompanied by Yang. The blonde seemed to be in a particularly good mood, but didn't say a word as they made it to their lockers.

Yang only spoke once the proper textbooks had been retrieved for the next few periods, putting an arm around her shoulders as they resumed walking past a crowd of students. "Soooo? How did it go?"

"It went." She mentally begged for Yang to drop it.

"Come on, you can tell me! I mean, I only spent a couple hours helping you prepare."

She winced despite herself, as Yang wasn't exactly wrong. "Still, I'd really rather not talk about it."

"But why?" Yang did an overly dramatic gasp, briefly covering her mouth with her free hand. "Did something bad happen? Are you okay, my friend?"

"I... I'm fine, Yang." Yang didn't seemed convinced, of course, and Weiss realized that she'd soon be forced to talk to some extent or another. She sighed. "I didn't meet with him on Saturday."

"Oh? How come?"

"Because... he wasn't there when I showed up." Yang suddenly pinched the shoulder she had her hand around, causing Weiss to jump a bit from the sting. "Ow! Why did you do that!?"

"Because of personal reasons," Yang chirped, still unnervingly peppy. "Come on, Weiss. Last chance here: what really happened?"

She opened her mouth to retort, but held it as she looked at her surroundings. Yang had somehow led them outside the building, out the back of the school where the only thing present was a few windows and the brick wall of the main structure. Weiss suddenly felt very cold, and it wasn't the chill of the approaching winter. Her mouth flapped open and shut as she grasped for the right words to say, until Yang cut her off with that oh-so-thick layer of sugar in her voice. "You know what I think happened, Weiss? I think you chickened out! Because according to my sources, and my sources are _very_ reliable, it was _Crescent_ who was stuck all alone."

Her mouth went dry. She had made it a point not to share his username with her. Yang's nails began digging into her shoulder, and it took every ounce of effort she could muster to not yelp from the pain. "Y-Yang, why are you-?"

In one swift move, Yang grabbed the collar of her uniform with both hands and lifted her up into the air. Slowly, her jovial attitude shifted into seething rage; indignation so pungent that it froze Weiss even as her feet dangled in mid-air. Every scrap of civility had been abandoned as Yang gave her a quick shake, her head coming within inches of the wall. "Do you know what it was like seeing Jaune the next day, Weiss!? To see him so heartbroken because _somebody_ was a 'no call, no show' to their date? He tried to cover up his little slip of the tongue, but I'm not stupid. I figured out what he meant to say pretty easily."

Weiss was lowered until she was almost nose-to-nose with her. "Two. _hours._ That's how long he waited for you to show up. And do you know what the kicker is? He wasn't even mad at you!"

Even in her petrified state, Yang's words made their way into her brain and began to fester. "What...?"

"Yep! He was depressed, for sure, but once all was said and done he was _concerned_ more than anythingelse." The grip on her collar became even more restricting. "So what's your excuse? Why'd you do it?"

"I...I..." She didn't have an excuse. If she told Yang the truth, that she'd seen who it was and fled, she knew that she might very well be red with blood in a matter of moments. Yang didn't say anything, clearly waiting for some type of response, so for lack of anything better to say she stammered out, "I-I don't have an excuse, Yang. I'm sorry..."

"Sorry?" For a moment Yang's eyes seemed to turn from lilac to red. Was that a trick of the light? " _Sorry?_ I'm really not the one you should apologizing to, Weiss! I have half a mind to drag you to Jaune right this second so you can _beg_ for his forgiveness!"

It seemed that fists would indeed be flying; but just as Weiss began to brace herself, Yang let her go. Her terrified legs failed to support her weight and she wound up sprawled on the ground, staring up at her aggressor. Yang glared down at her, anger giving way to contempt on her face. "Jaune is a great guy, Weiss, and I know now that he deserves better than your shallow friendship. I hope you spend the rest of your time at Beacon regretting what you've done."

Yang marched off without any further discussion, leaving Weiss in a heap on the grass. As she pulled her legs into herself and stuck her face between her knees, Weiss knew beyond a doubt that she was the guilty party in this scenario. Jaune, as Crescent, had given her nothing but friendship, and she had thrown that back into his face. The bell for first period rang as she began sobbing, guilt eating away at the very fabric of her heart.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to herself, to the Crescent she'd held so dear. "I'm so sorry..."

- **Yang** -

To say that Yang was mad would be perhaps the greatest understatement of all-time. She was _furious_ , to a degree she had never thought possible. In the back of her mind she'd been hopeful that Weiss just had something come up that required her attention, because then she and Jaune could just reschedule their meeting after any number of apologies for the lack of communication.

But the look on the heiress's face had told her everything she needed to know: Weiss had, one way or another, figured out that it was Jaune and backed out of the arrangement without a word. Her callousness made Yang want to pound her face in until it was black, blue, and red all over; but she had somehow held herself back. She didn't know if she held back for Jaune's sake, or so she didn't get in deep water for assaulting the daughter of a very influential family, or if the side-ponytail-wearing sack of pompousness just wasn't worth the effort.

Any of those reasons worked, really.

All she knew for sure was that she was now determined to fill the gap "Crystal" had left in Jaune's heart. Yang Xiao Long would be the best friend her fellow blonde could ever ask for.

First period flew past in the blink of an eye, the schoolwork giving her a decent focus outside of her anger. When second period rolled around and Weiss was due to be in the same class as her, the heiress was instead absent. Yang felt no remorse for what happened, content in the knowledge that she had gotten her point across without actual violence.

A couple hours later it was time for lunch, and after going through the food line she immediately found her way to Jaune's table. Pyrrha was sitting on one side of him while Ren and Nora sat across from them, so she sat down on the unoccupied side of Jaune and offered the table at large a smile. "Mind if I take this spot, guys?"

Nora immediately reached over and put a hand up for a high five. "Of course not! Welcome to the cool table, Slayer of Jaune's K/D ratio!"

"I wasn't that bad yesterday," grumbled Jaune as Yang met the high five enthusiastically.

"Yeah, you kinda were." She pat his head like she would a child. "So, what's going on?"

"Not much," offered Pyrrha. "Ren was just discussing doing a dance choreography for this Saturday's dance, but Nora had to break it to him that it's a little too... last minute to work out."

Yang gave a small 'hm' as she digested that. With all the Weiss/Jaune drama going on, she'd honestly forgotten all about the dance. "Ren and Nora are going together, but not 'together-together', I assume?"

Jaune chuckled as Nora pursed her lips. "Pretty much. I'm not scheduled to work that day, but I'm also not really sure if I'm even going after what happened last year."

To Jaune's left Pyrrha flinched, an action that was caught by everybody present except the boy himself. Yang felt a bit bad for the red-head. Jaune being the object of her affection was a pretty open secret for students in their year. But what could she do?

Unless...

An idea formed in Yang's mind, and it rapidly developed into plan 'Matchmaker'. Pulling out her phone, she typed a quick message into a blank notepad app.

 _Now's your chance, Pyrrha. Ask him to the dance._

She didn't have Pyrrha's phone number, so she improvised a bit. "Hey, Pyrrha, can you look at this picture and tell me what you think of it? You might be able to use this on the field."

"I guess?" Yang passed her phone behind Jaune's back, and when the target girl read the message she blushed a bit. After a moment, though, the blush disappeared and was replaced by a look of determination; the same look the track star usually had before a big run. Pyrrha met her eyes and nodded as she passed the phone back. "That was... interesting, but I don't think that would be allowed in a competitive track and field event, Yang."

"What wouldn't be allowed?" The group turned to see Ruby standing nearby with a tray of food. "And where are Blake and Weiss?"

"In order of how you asked: a funny pair of running shoes, the library, and around somewhere I'm sure." Yang ticked off her fingers as she answered. "Take a seat. This is the cool table, apparently."

"Well, duh. I'm here now." Ruby smirked as she sat by Nora. "I'm the person that does maintenance on your bike, so I'm automatically the coolest person around."

"Maaaybe. We'll argue about that later, sis." Yang laughed even as she eyed Pyrrha again.

Thankfully, she seemed to get the message. Clearing her throat, Pyrrha put a hand on Jaune's shoulder to get his attention and slowly said, "On the topic of the dance, Jaune, I was wondering if you'd like to go. Together, that is."

Jaune looked at her in silence for a couple seconds as he processed what had just been asked of him. Across the table, Nora was practically vibrating with excitement while Ruby and Ren remained silent. "You wanna go to the dance... with me?"

"Do you not want to?" Pyrrha seemed to shrink a little bit, and Jaune quickly jumped after seeing that.

"No- I mean, yes, that sounds great. It's just that I'm surprised. Weren't you just asked out by Sky the other day?"

"I was," she confirmed, "but while Sky is nice, it's you that I-" She cut herself off, clearly still uncomfortable with the concept of truly confessing her feelings. She reset by saying, "I know that I'll have a good time with you as my escort. So, would you like to go together?"

"Of course," he answered with a smile. "Sounds like a good time to me, too, Pyrrha." Pyrrha began beaming in response.

"YES!" Nora's shout rang throughout the cafeteria. "This. is. happening!"

While Ren worked on bringing Nora's volume down a level, Pyrrha spared a moment away from Jaune's face to look at Yang and mouth _'Thank you_ ', to which she responded with a lazy two finger salute. In less than a day she'd set Weiss straight and encouraged Jaune's love life to improve. She felt so good about herself right then.

If she ignored the tug of her heart, of course.

X

 **Poor Yang, putting others ahead of herself.**

 **Also, a full chapter two days later. What the hell has you inspired, Muse?**

 **Muse: Life, maaaan. Life.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please consider leaving a review, and I'll see you next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: To my Charismatic Gamer peeps, I appreciate your patience. Chapters Five through seven (this chapter) of New message were all planned at the same time, and I wanted to get them all out before returning to a story that is much more detail oriented. Too much in my head at once makes for a very confused Panda.**

 **Note: This chapter is being written before we know what the Canon Sienna Kahn looks and acts like.** **I reserve the right to edit her description once Volume five hits.**

 **Enjoy!**

X

 _"Band! Ten- **Hut**!"_ _Snap! The issued command brought the band to attention in their seats, backs ramrod straight as they waited for the instructor to speak. Amber Autumn, the band director for Beacon Academy, was rubbing her temples in frustration. "Percussion, just because I'm working with another section does not mean you can start goofing off in the back of the room. If I catch even one of you playing around again today, you're **all** going to be running laps during next practice. Am I understood?"_

 _"Yes ma'am!" The response was perfectly in sync, no doubt because they knew that she would very well keep her word. Nora and Russel, the guilty party, had the decency to look ashamed as the rest of the section flashed them dirty looks. Jaune shook his head in amusement before resetting his position on the bells._

 _It was late freshman year, and the band was getting ready for the spring festival; which, for the unaware, is less of a festival and more of a competition between schools for the "concert band" season. Jaune was blessedly able to play an electric guitar for a jazz piece they were performing, but the other two selections forced him into the percussion section. He'd wanted to play the keyboard if he wasn't allowed to do guitar for the whole performance; but, to his dismay, none of the three pieces even used a piano part._

 _Half an hour later the after-school practice ended with percussion, by some miracle, not being assigned laps. Jaune helped set the instruments away while Nora jabbered away in his ear. His ginger friend was playing timpani, which didn't allow any kind of bombastic playing, so she was completely wound up from her pent up energy. As they waited for Ren to arrive he humored her mile-a-minute questions: no, he hadn't seen any movies lately; yes, he'd love to see the new X-ray and Vav movie together with Ren and Pyrrha; no, he hadn't noticed Pyrrha's new eyeshadow, why do you ask?_

 _After Ren took the puppy off of his hands, Jaune started to walk to the school bike rack, passing by the Chorus room on the way. Just as he crossed in front of the double doors, he heard a single voice emanating from inside. The notes being sung were crisp and beautiful, instantly grabbing his attention and leading him to peek through one of the windows._

 _Mirror, tell me something / tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

 _Mirror, tell me something / Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

 _In the middle of the room was Weiss Schnee, completely alone as she practiced a song he'd never heard before. Her eyes were closed as she focused on singing, giving Jaune ample time to observe her. Ever since they'd met near the beginning of the year, Jaune had to admit that he'd found her to be stunningly beautiful, with her crystalline blue eyes and hair perfectly set to one side in a ponytail. Her fair skin seemed to glisten in the lighting of the Chorus room, leaving Jaune breathless as he watched her perform to a crowd of none._

 _Mirror, what's inside of me? / Tell me can a heart be turned to stone?_

 _But the more he listened, the more a strange, unsettling feeling crept into his stomach. Music was supposed to be something that was enjoyed. When you practice something, even when it's a sad piece, there's supposed to be a sense of... accomplishment? Determination? Satisfaction? The proper word for it eluded him._

 _Mirror, mirror, what's behind you? / Save me from the things I see!_

 _I can keep it from the world / Why won't you let me hide from me?_

 _Weiss's singing, however, was almost haunting. It came from a place of deep sorrow, and Jaune could feel her sadness in every note. In the back of his mind, he felt a strange need begin to grow._

 _Mirror mirror tell me something. / Who's the loneliest of all?_

 _A need to turn that buried darkness into light, so that she might one day sing from a place of joy. A want to turn that frown into a smile, so that he would never again feel this haunting tune shake his soul. In the span of one song, his infatuation morphed into something new and peculiar._

 _I'm the loneliest of Gooood **morning** , ladies and gentlemen!_

The radio on his clock awoke him from his stupor, Vale Radio Network blaring out of its miniscule speaker. Groggily, he shuffled out of bed and began getting dressed for schoolas the talk show host continued his spiel.

"... and it's looking to be a lovely Wednesday morning; however, we are anticipating some showers from the afternoon to late in the evening, so make sure to bring an umbrella..."

Glancing out of his window Jaune failed to see any clouds in the dim light of the dawn, but far be it from him to argue with the meteorologists. He'd make sure all of his sisters had umbrellas, even if the weathermen tended to be wrong half of the time.

 _'Still,'_ he thought with some amusement, _'it's been a while since I've dreamed of Weiss. I wonder what brought that memory back up?'_

Thinking on the past brought Jaune around to the present, and how his daily life seemed to be undergoing rapid changes in the past few days. First, Yang and Ruby had sat at his table Monday and Tuesday, with the former giving every indication that it would probably stay that way for a while. He didn't mind, of course; it was fun talking with her, and he was still grateful for her pulling him out of his funk on Sunday.

Second, Pyrrha had begun texting him so they could chat and prep for the dance, and when they were at lunch together she seemed to be peppier than usual. It reminded him of when they would hang out as kids, before her family moved to Mistral for a number of years. This was even better than the Yang change, because ever since Pyrrha moved back to Vale she seemed to be guarded, putting on a practiced smile around their non-friend classmates rather than a genuine smile. He knew it was the stress of being a high-profile athlete headed straight for professional competitions, so he was glad that she was relaxing more.

And the final change...

Jaune turned on his phone display. There was a good morning text from Pyrrha... and still nothing from Crystal. Face met phone for a moment as he prayed to no god in particular for her safety throughout whatever was going on. Beyond his disappointment about Saturday, he just flat out missed talking to her. She truly felt like a kindred spirit, and the thought of something bad happening to her tore him up inside.

 _'I think I see why I might've been annoying to my friends and family when I talked about her.'_

He had broken the news about Saturday to his family, and to say they hadn't taken it well would be like saying an iceberg was a small piece of frozen water. Olive and the twins, Sapphire and Jade, were outright calling for blood, Plum had remained silent but was no doubt on the same page as the prior, and Lavender had passed her yogurt cup to him in an attempt to cheer him up. If you knew Lavender, you knew that meant she seriously felt bad for you.

His mom had _said_ that she thought the same way he did, that something must've come up and she hadn't done it on purpose; however, he'd seen the overprotective sparkle in her eyes before she masked it. Juniper Arc could be very terrifying when she wanted to be, and he prayed once again that Crystal had simply been overwhelmed but was otherwise okay; because if the truth was anything else, the Arc women might very well kill her themselves.

Jaune went about his routine of prepping the familial troop for the day, lunch money included, and then took off for school himself. The first half of his classes went well, including what hebfelt was a relatively comfortable test under Goodwitch. Maybe it was just an easier subject, or maybe Crystal's lessons had started to stick. The pain of loneliness hit again, but he buried it. He made it mantra of sorts: She's healthy and okay, she's healthy and okay. Repeat ad infinitum.

At lunch-

"Are you sure, Pyrrha? I'd feel bad not getting a corsage for you." Jaune rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'll admit that I don't know much about flowers, but I am confident that I could pick out a set that will match your dress color-wise."

"I'm positive, Jaune." She had a comforting hand on his shoulder even as she flashed him a smile. "I know very well that you're working for your family, and I'd hate for you to spend money on something that'll dry out within a week or two. But thank you for offering."

"Alright, alright," he relented. "But if you're hungry after the dance, you're going to let me buy you some food."

Nora chose that moment to speak up. "Or you could get a hotel room and order room service. Just saying."

Jaune and Pyrrha both choked on their food as Yang gave Nora a thumbs up. Ren chided her for the tease, but couldn't hide his mirth at their reactions. Eventually Jaune managed to squeeze out, "D-don't go saying dumb things when we're eating! And we aren't even dating!"

Somebody at the table mumbled 'yet', but he never figured out who it was. Luckily, the conversation was derailed by the arrival of both Ruby and Blake, the latter of whom said, "We went looking for Weiss, but couldn't find her anywhere after class. I saw her in first period, but I'm not sure why she's avoiding us."

Jaune gave a quiet 'hm' as he thought about what that meant. Apparently, ever since Monday, Weiss had been avoiding talking to anybody outside of answering essential questions in class. Pyrrha, Blake, and Nora had all approached her at some point, but the heiress deftly avoiding them and went about her day. The only person didn't seem bothered by it was Yang, who looked content drinking the little carton of chocolate milk on her tray.

While he wasn't crushing on her like he used to the last couple of years, he still wished for the best for her. Hopefully, she'd soon be able to talk to everybody again, and maybe then they could have a full table of eight people.

After school, he swung by his home to check on everyone. The weatherman had actually been correct: by three thirty, it was raining cats and dogs outside, and there were several Arc girls desperately waiting for a load of towels in the dryer to hurry up so they could dry off themselves. Jaune still had to work that day, so after ensuring that dinner would be taken care of he got dressed and went on his merry way, driving right into the thick of the storm.

Windshield wipers going at full speed, Jaune had to take it slow so he wouldn't hydroplane all over the road. He let his eyesight wonder every now and then to his right, observing the several people who were walking on the grassy sidewalks, umbrellas up and hoods over their heads as they walked from A to B. Silently wishing them safe travels, he was about to refocus on the road before him when he saw an unusual sight.

Visibility was horrible with the rain, but he could tell that one of the pedestrians was lacking any sort of umbrella or hood. They seemed to be walking slower than the rest, and after slowing down even further he noted that they had a wobble to their step, as if every step was painful.

Years of his father's teaching called out to him, instructing him to help out this stranger in need; he obeyed without a moment's pause. He pulled forward a bit and got as far on the curb as he safely could, turned on the trucks emergency flashers, and exited the truck with his umbrella spread and up. It took a second to reach the walker, but they paid him no mind as he approached. Soon he stuck the umbrella over their head...

...and felt his heart stop in his chest.

"...Weiss?"

She flinched at the sound of his voice, slowly raising her eyes to meet his. She was wearing a tattered business outfit, mud smeared all around her jacket and skirt. One of her heels had broken off, no doubt the source of her wobble. Her hair, normally pristine and in a ponytail, was weighed down with water and hanging limply against her chest.

But the most disconcerting thing by far were her eyes: they were lifeless, blankly staring back at him as if he were some type of illusion. It took a full ten seconds for her to process his presence, and doing so seemed to instill a sense of panic in her. She tried to take a step, but her leg gave out from under her and she wound up lurching straight into his arms, caking him in the same mud. His own brain finally caught up, and he fervently began checking her and asked, "Are you okay? You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?!"

Weiss looked up once more, her breath shaky as she spoke just one word. "...Why...?"

And then a dam burst.

- **Weiss** -

There had been many days in her school life where she could safely say she desperately wanted Professor Port to stop talking. His incessant droning had lulled many students into taking naps, naps that would be accompanied by detention once the "lecture" was over.

Today, however, she was begging to hear one of his stories; that way, she might actually get some sleep.

It wasn't to be, and in front of her he placed one of his slightly randomized tests and silently walked to the next student, placing another such test before continuing. Groaning to herself, she grabbed her pencil and began to circle some of the multiple choice answers almost randomly. She'd suffer a failing grade if it meant being _done_.

Port was the last class she was to take before Klein picked her up to attend the meeting with Sienna Kahn. Her business outfit was already picked out and lying on her bed, she just needed to wrap this up and grab it. And maybe take a nap...

No, no. There wasn't going to be enough time. But after the meeting, she swore that she would sleep for days.

Some of her friends had approached her over the past few days, expressing concern over the fact that she was now avoiding associating with anyone at school. She gave evasive answers and ran each time, because she had no way of telling them the truth and them not hate her as much as she hated herself. What made it worse in her mind was that Yang must've told Jaune everything by that point. He, Jaune, hadn't sent any further messages to her, so that had to be the case.

She was hated, and she knew that she deserved it. All she could do now was fulfill her obligation to attend this meeting, and then she could just... disappear for a while. Be alone, by choice and due to her actions. It's only fitting.

Once the test had been handed in to Port, she left the class with due haste, fleeing to the car pick-up area where Klein awaited her. As she looked out of the car window, she noted that the sky had become covered with dark gray clouds, heralding the approaching storm.

When they reached the estate she immediately went to her bedroom, stripping away the school uniform and donning her work attire. It was a soft blue suit jacket with a formal skirt of the same shade. Under that was a white undershirt and black leggings. She chose to keep her hair styled as she always did, merely taking a few moments to fix a few bad spots. With a pen and clipboard in hand to take notes, she made her way to the board room slightly ahead of schedule. On the way, Klein informed her that Jacques was meeting the guests at the entrance.

When she reached the meeting location and allowed herself in, she was surprised to see Whitley also sitting there, holding a clipboard similar to her own. They merely exchanged nods, neither seeing a reason to engage in conversation until the others arrived. Within a few minutes, the door opened to allow three people into the room: her father, in his usual white business suit; Ghira Belladonna, Blake's father and head of the White Fang's Vale branch; and a tan-skinned woman that could only be Sienna Khan herself. With black hair pulled into a braid and a tiger's tail wrapped around her torso, she was a woman not much taller than Weiss herself.

She and Whitley stood upon their arrival, and Jacques walked the two over for introductions. "Children, say hello to Ghira Belladonna and Sienna Khan, leaders of the prestigious White Fang. Honored guests, these are my children Weiss and Whitley."

Ghira approached Weiss first. Despite his large size, his smile was surprisingly warm to see. "Hello, Miss Weiss. My daughter has told me quite a bit about you. I need to thank you for being such a good friend to her."

"Pleased to meet you, and there's no need to thank me," she answered softly. "Blake is most pleasant to be around, as long as she doesn't accidentally get food in one of her books."

"It's true, she never can seem to stop reading." Ghira gave a chuckle before turning to her brother. He held his hand out for a shake. "And greetings to you, sir Whitley."

"And to you as well," he replied cordially as he shook the older man's hand. He made no effort to continue the pleasantries, instead turning to Sienna Khan. "Miss Khan, it is indeed an honor to finally meet you."

"Thank you, young man." Despite her small frame, her voice had a deep tone for a woman. She was confident; powerful, mentally and politically, and fully aware of how much influence she had in the proceedings. "It is always good to work with the next generation."

"Quite," Jacques said with his snake smile. The one that Weiss had learned meant that he knew something other people didn't. "Shall we move on to business? I know the two of you are terribly busy."

Sienna nodded. "Of course. Before we discuss the future, I was hoping to deal with some concerns."

The next half-hour focused around the various complaints of human employees being promoted over Faunus despite the latter being more qualified. Jacques promised to look into two particular incidents in Atlas, a suggestion that earned a quiet scoff from Whitley. Weiss couldn't help but agree with his unspoken sentiment; Jacques would most likely make it _look_ like he investigated it before deciding to leave things exactly as they are. It was how the man operated on a near daily basis, by focusing on efficiency above all else. He was never keen on changing his mind unless it served to benefit him in the end.

After those topics were finished they shifted to lighter ones, such as Jacques building a windmill farm on the plains of Anima to help establish a business with some of the smaller villages. Weiss's pen scribbled furiously as she took notes on which villages they were seeking to power by the end of ten years time, as they would eventually become her responsibility to manage. Whitley did the same beside her, only stopping to glance at her with some knowing smirk that only served to irritate her.

Eventually, the conversation shifted once more and Sienna was addressing Weiss herself. "I would like to say that I appreciate your interest in improving human-Faunus relations. The situation is still tense in some cities, with one group seeing the other as evil or weak."

There seemed to be a hidden message there, but Weiss couldn't quite see what it was. She chose to smile and take it at face value. "At the end of the day we're all people and deserve to be treated as such."

Sienna returned the smile, evidently pleased with her answer. "Indeed. I can't wait to see how you do as ambassador."

...What?

Sienna, oblivious to her mental freeze, turned in her seat to face Whitley. "And I hope you, young heir, continue to improve the company once your father's tenure is over."

"I shall strive for true equality all of my years as head of the SEC." Whitley's words were rehearsed, as if he'd expected those very words from the beginning.

Her mind finally caught up to the present, and she partially rose from her seat as she said, "Please wait just a moment. I'm the heiress to the SEC-"

"Weiss, now is not the time for this discussion," warned Jacques under his breath.

He went unheeded. "- and the only way Whitley would become head is if something happened to me. And what do you mean by 'ambassador?'"

Both Sienna and Ghira frowned at the question, but it was the latter who responded first. "I'm not sure I understand what is going on. Jacques told us that you were interested in becoming the liason for Vale and Menagerie. I'm here because, as former chief of Menagerie, I have a bit of sway with the higher-ups and could help establish you as an ambassador."

Time stopped. The world stopped. Her mind went blank as she slowly turned to face her father, whose expression could only be described as "annoyed." He quickly shifted into damage control mode, as he adopted a faux-smile and said, "I'm sure my daughter is just exhausted from her coursework is simply-"

Sienna Khan raised her hand sharply, cutting off any further explanation from him as she regarded Weiss carefully. "Miss Schnee, did you know anything about this before today?"

Her eyes never left her father. "No. I wasn't told a thing."

"I see." With those two words, Sienna gathered her few belongings together and stood up, silently encouraging Ghira to do the same. "Jacques, we'll talk again soon about how the SEC treats its Faunus employees. Farewell."

"W-wait! Please wait." Jacques nearly jumped up, desperate to keep them where they were. Sienna flashed him a look harsh enough to make him pause, giving the Fang representatives time enough to finish packing and depart. As Sienna passed by Weiss, the former gave the latter a brief pat on the shoulder, hoping to give the young girl some consolation.

When Ghira began to pass her, he stopped for a moment and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I... am sorry about this. If there is anything I can do, please tell Blake and I'll be there."

She didn't respond in any form, her anger building as she continued staring at her snake of a father. Soon the board room was occupied only by the Schnee family, and Jacques returned her glare with equal force. "You _stupid child!_ Do you have any idea what you've done? All the time I spent kissing up to those animals, and you had to ruin it by not keeping your mouth shut!"

"What _I've_ done? Were you just planning on never telling me about any of this?!" Beyond her anger she was incredulous. "That you would try to strip me of my title as heiress is ridiculous, and doesn't even begin to cover that I only know now because of the White Fang you hold in contempt! What were you thinking, father?!"

"What I was _thinking_ , young lady, is that I shall give this company to the one who would do what's best for it. Whitley will continue my policies and have the SEC become truly legendary by the time he's done! Don't think that I am blind to your intentions, girl."

He pointed a finger at her to drive his words home. "I saw the _fondness_ you had for Winter when she defied me and joined the military. That's why you started to put your hair to side, to emulate your rebel of a sister. I can see the signs, and I know that if you took control of this company you would make it your job to undo my legacy. I won't have it!"

The sheer disdain he was looking at her with told the full picture. She, Weiss Schnee, was never truly going to inherit the company. Whitley had always been the true heir; Jacques had likely waited until now to announce due to his son's age. It would look improper to bypass the first two children if the heir to be was only a child.

Now that Whitley was about to turn fifteen, though, he'd deemed it time to reveal his true colors. She'd never had any real role in this family...

She... she was unnecessary, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Anger gave way to exhaustion and she slumped into her seat, all thoughts of arguing further disappearing at once. Jacques left the room without a single word, leaving Whitley to stand over his sister. Slowly, the young man began to smile. " _Dear_ sister, I am sorry that you were promised something that would never be yours. I can only begin to imagine that feeling. But don't worry..."

He leaned in close, speaking into the ear that Ghira hadn't. "...I will lead the Schnee family into a bright and prosperous future."

In the end, Weiss was the only soul to remain in the room, her thoughts swirling further into the darkness. What would she do now? She had no direction in life outside of the company, and that had just been stripped from her in glorious fashion.

She had nothing.

She had no one.

She spent an untold number of minutes alone until Klein entered the room. Her pathetic sight broke his heart to pieces, especially since he hadn't been told what happened yet. "Miss Schnee, what ails you so?"

She didn't know what to say to him. Idly, she looked past him into the doorway he'd entered from, where a window in the hallway revealed that it was raining outside.

Outside...

"Klein," she said slowly as she finally stood up, "I'm... going out for a while."

"Out?" Klein turned his head to see the same view she had. "I'll gladly drive you anywhere, my dear, but where-"

She shuffled past him without another word, lethargic movement taking her to the front door of the estate. Klein followed, trying to make sense of her actions. "Miss Schnee, where are you going? Weiss? Weiss!"

His words went ignored as she opened the doors and left the building exactly as she was. She had no destination in mind; no goal except to get as far away from the Schnee manor as she could.

She walked. And walked. For what felt like several miles she walked on and on, the rain bearing down on her with ever increasing force. She had no sense of time, the only moment to stick out being when her heel stuck into a mud pit and snapped off, sending her straight into the ground in order to be painted the same color as the dirt. Slowly, achingly, she picked herself up and continued her aimless journey.

 _'I have no one. I have nothing. I have no one. I have nothing. I have-'_

"...Weiss?"

She stopped and looked up, seeing an image of her sin in front of her. Was this a punishment, she wondered? Was her life destroyed because she'd selfishly hurt Jaune, her beloved Crescent, and now the gods were showing her a vision so she understood that?

As she registered that she no longer felt the rain on her head, she suddenly grasped that the Jaune in front of her was _not_ an illusion; he was real, and holding an umbrella over her head.

Yang's angry face ran through her mind.

Her mind commanded her body to run in fear; Jaune hates her now, she couldn't be near him! Her body, beaten and tired as it was, instead saw fit to collapse courtesy of her broken heel, and she fell practically face first into his chest. Fearing his reaction, she dared to look up and see his face.

He was concerned; not upset, and certainly not angry. Jaune's face was the epitome of worry, and as he began asking questions and examining her for wounds, she realized that he seemed to have no intention of hurting her.

Why?

"...Why...?"

Why didn't he hate her? How could he possibly be looking at her with anything besides disgust in his eyes?

A memory flashed.

 _Crescent: -You're never alone, Crystal._

She was overwhelmed. Simply wrecked with feelings, both good and bad, as she realized that she hadn't been abandoned. Cresce- No, Jaune. He was here! He- He!

Weiss began to cry. It was a flood of tears as she grabbed onto his shirt and wailed, her sobs louder than even the pouring rain all around them. Slowly, Jaune began to hug her, willingly earning even more filth on his clothes as her maelstrom continued. He started to rub her back with one hand while the other held the umbrella, not wanting either of them to suffer the elements. She didn't even care about the rain. Jaune was here...

X

 **Me: Okay, Muse. Get to Charismatic Gamer.**

 **Muse: But-**

 **Me: NOW!**

 **Just so you know, the Arc children will be detailed in full in the next chapter, since only Olive actually has a physical description at the moment.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it! Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** **Introducing: the Arc family!**

X

- **Jaune** -

It took several minutes for Weiss to gain some level of control. Jaune was still holding the umbrella to avoid the rain as he consoled her, but the mud on his clothes gave him a not-so-subtle clue that working that day might not happen. As she began to settle down, he tried to speak over the rain. "We need to get out of the weather. Are you okay with me taking you to where I work?"

Still pressed against his chest, he felt her head nod twice; so, he carefully shifted to help support her weight and walked her to his truck. He didn't have anything to protect the seats from their mess, so he mentally apologized to them as they got their seat belts on and he took off down the road. Weiss didn't say anything for the duration of the trip, simply alternating between staring out of the window and glancing at him. Jaune let her sit in silence, afraid to say anything that would set off her tears again.

When they reached the Vermilion Garden, he parked around the back and helped Weiss from her seat onto the pavement, one of her arms placed over his shoulder to support her as he held the umbrella over their heads once more. Deciding that going through the main entrance would lead to being stared at by the customers, he led them to the rear entrance and kicked the door three times as hard as he could manage. Usually the rear entrance was reserved for retrieving shipments, but Jaune knew his sister wouldn't mind this time.

"Alright, who the hell is..." It was Cardin that answered the door as he peeked out of the head-height window, but he fell quiet as he got a good look at their pitiful state. "...Jaune? What in the world...?"

"It's complicated," he replied simply. "Will you let us in and tell my sis that I need to see her when she gets a chance?"

"Sure thing." The door popped open with an audible click, with Cardin giving them just enough space to slip in beside him before closing it behind them. "We're slow right now, so it shouldn't be too long."

"Thanks, man." Jaune walked Weiss to their break room, and as he did so he became acutely aware of the fact that he was _cold_ ; what water and mud he'd gotten on him from Weiss's hug was chilling his very bones, and it struck him that she was soaked from head to toe in _November._ Thankfully, he knew the building from the inside-out, and Weiss only had to stand on her own for a moment before he had her situated in a towel-covered chair, with a space heater nearby to keep her warm. He handed her an additional towel to dry off with, knowing that she'd have to change out of her soaked business wear.

It was as he was returning with one of the spare women's uniforms that Vermilion kept on hand that Weiss chose to speak. Her eyes were boring a hole into the table and her voice was a little cracked as she asked, "Jaune, why... are you helping me?"

The question stumped him. "Why? Because you needed help, that's why. I mean, I didn't know that it was you when I pulled over, but that doesn't even really matter."

She looked up at him, a combination of surprise and something he couldn't identify on her face. "But don't... don't you hate me? For what I did?"

"For what you- Oh!" A puzzle piece fell into place in his mind. "Well, your public rejection was a little harsh, but that's no reason to hate you; plus, in hindsight, I really shouldn't have been so persistent. All of that was a year ago now, so if you're willing to forget it happened, I am, too."

Weiss simply stared at him, almost blankly. He was about to ask what he'd said that was wrong, but she quickly shook her head as if she were getting rid of something that was sitting atop it. "Then... thank you. For everything."

"No problem." He flashed her his winning smile (according to his mom, at least) and held the clothes in his arms forward. "These will probably be a _little_ too big for you, but it's the best I could find. I'll be outside the break room to stop anybody from coming in, so just tell me when you're done."

Her only response was to nod, so he took that as his cue to step out. Luckily, he was only at his post for a few moments before Vermilion herself appeared, looking him up and down with her nose wrinkled. "So that's what Cardin meant when he said you'd shown up with a, quote, 'dirty girl.'"

"Of course he phrased it like that." Jaune held his face in his hands for a moment before looking back at her. "It's a classmate of mine, I found her walking like a zombie in the storm on the way here. She's changing into one of the work uniforms now."

"Uh-huh. Did you think to grab yourself a set, as well?"

He blinked before examining his own appearance: he was still wet and covered in filth. "Whoops."

Vermilion gave a long-suffering sigh. "You know, Jaune, you could stand to be a little more self-centered instead of thinking about everybody else first. Having a hint of selfishness isn't a bad thing."

"Sorry." He really wasn't, and his grin betrayed that.

"Forget it." She sighed again. "How well do you know this girl?"

"She's a friend of a friend, and I kin~da kept asking her to go to the dance with me last year."

His sister's facepalm was the reaction he'd expected, especially since it at least partially mirrored his own thoughts: this whole situation was awkward. "I'm too young to be saying that I'm too old to be dealing with this, Jaune. Do you at least know why she was out in the rain?"

"No, I only just found her before I got here. When she's ready to talk-"

"I'm done changing, Jaune." Weiss's announcement cut him off. He opened his mouth to finish the sentence, but Vermilion stopped it with a raised hand and let herself into the break room before him. As he'd suspected the shirt dwarfed her by at least a full size, but she didn't seem to mind as she continuing drying her hair with the towel. Her soiled clothes were in a plastic bag, hanging off the back of her chair.

When Vermilion and Jaune walked in, the latter introduced the former with, "Weiss, this is my oldest sister Vermilion, and the owner of this restraurant. Sis, this is Weiss Schnee."

Weiss stood rigid at the sight of sister, but gathered herself and gave a small bow. "I'm sorry for intruding on you and your brother, ma'am."

Vermilion rolled her eyes. "Don't call me ma'am; I'm not that old. Call me Vermilion or 'Boss' like everyone here. Please, have a seat."

Weiss complied and sat down, removing the now-soaked towel that was laying on it else she ruin the new clothes, too. Vermilion sat opposite of her, leaving Jaune to stand awkwardly to the side. The room was stiff until Vermilion spoke again. "So, Weiss, why did my brother have to pull you in from the storm?"

Jaune shifted forward to argue. "Sis-"

"Jaune." Weiss's voice was quiet yet strangely firm as she interrupted him. "It's okay. I've taken time out of your day; time that should've been spent working for your sister. Her asking questions... isn't in the wrong."

He locked eyes with her for a moment before silently conceding, resuming his stance by the wall. Weiss turned back to Vermilion and said, "I was with my family when I learned something... extremely upsetting to me. Unfortunately, I ran from the estate without making any kind of preparations. I'll admit that it was beyond foolish of me to have done so, but it's too late to change that now."

Vermilion played with a strand of her red hair, a gesture that usually indicated she was deep in thought. "If Jaune were to take you back to your home, what would happen?"

Weiss twisted uncomfortably in her chair. Her exhaustion was clear to see, but equally clear was the fact that Vermilion would not be denied an answer. "Then I'd most likely get into another argument with my family. Quite frankly I... don't think I can look at them tonight. Not after what happened."

"Then, what do you intend to do?"

Weiss put her hand on her chin as she thought about it. She glanced at her clothes bag before seeming to recall something. "I left my phone at home; but if one of you will allow me to make a call, I can contact my butler Klein and have him drop off some of my belongings. I'm sure I can find a hotel nearby with a room open."

Vermilion's expression softened as her mouth lifted up with a slight smirk. "What, and have Jaune here worried about you all night? Not likely."

The odd statement caught the younger girl off-guard, especially when Jaune himself chuckled a bit. "I'm sorry?"

"Look, let me level with you." Vermilion leaned forward as if she were sharing a secret, but her voice stayed at the same volume as before. "The Arc kids were all raised with a special brand of hospitality; if we can help someone, we do, although we sometimes disagree on _how_ to do that. Little bro here has a particularly bad bleeding heart and would spend the next however many hours freaking out about your well-being until you two meet again."

"You make it sound like it's a bad thing," grumbled Jaune. He wasn't actually upset, of course, but he was rewarded with Weiss stifling a laugh behind her right hand. As small a gesture as it was, he was grateful to see any emotion on her face besides 'tired'. He followed up with, "My sis isn't wrong about the hospitality thing. If you're okay with it, my house has a guest bedroom you can use. What do you think?"

Weiss seemed like she was about to decline, but as she paused before answering she seemed to reconsider it. "I think that I would be extremely grateful."

He smiled. "Good. You can call that butler of yours to drop your stuff off here, and after my shift ends I'll drive you-"

"Hup-up-up," interjected Vermillion. "You won't be working any kind of shift today. You're still covered in water and mud, and I wouldn't be surprised if both of you get sick even after you change."

"But sis!"

"No buts, I know you've been doing well for tips this month. You can afford to miss a Wednesday." She crossed her arms in the stern way that only happens from an older sibling to a younger. "Grab a spare pair of clothes from the lockers and go home. The restaurant will be fine today."

Jaune pursed his lips into a thin line, but he knew better than to argue any further. "Fine, then I'm gonna need to borrow some more towels. The seats on the truck still have our mess from the ride here."

"Just get them washed and bring them back. Go."

He complied, retrieving some clothes from the lockers and changing in the men's bathroom. He also grabbed some towels and went outside to cover the truck's seats with them, casually noting that the rain was letting up. Once the preparations were done, he returned to the break room and handed his cellphone over to Weiss. She pressed a few keys and held it up to her ear. After it rang twice...

"Klein? Yes, it's me. I'm okay, I promise." A beat passed. "No, I won't be returning to the estate tonight; but, are you available to bring me some of my belongings? Yes? Thank you, Klein. Here's what I need..."

Weiss then reeled off a list of everything she needed, which included clothes, her phone, school supplies, and her wallet. Once she gave Klein Jaune's address, she thanked him again before hanging up and returning his phone to him. She still looked exhausted, but at least she didn't look as _lost_ as she had before. "Thank you, Jaune. Are we ready to go?"

"Yep yep, let's roll out."

- **Weiss** -

Calling the day a rollercoaster didn't do it justice. First, she was torn apart everything that had happened between Jaune, Yang, and herself; then, she had her title and sense of self-worth not-so-subtly ripped out from beneath her; _then_ , she was found by _Jaune himself_ as she walked aimlessly through the storm...

Now she was riding in his truck as he drove, wearing an oversized black button-down shirt with slacks that matched Jaune's outfit; there was a joke in there somewhere, but she couldn't quite tell what it was. There wasn't much being done in the way of talking, but that suited Weiss just fine for the moment; her mind was otherwise occupied with processing a revelation.

Jaune didn't know she was Crystal.

After her... encounter with Yang, Weiss had been positive that the blonde girl had told Jaune everything that she knew, whether it be to spite her further or to simply enlighten him. However, clearly, that hadn't happened, leaving her in the awkward position of needing to tell Jaune the truth. The truth that she was grateful for everything he'd done for her as Crescent, and that she was a coward who'd avoided him on Saturday for what she knew now to be the most foolish of reasons.

What was stressful now was balancing her admittedly battered mental state from her family affairs with the need to show him that she was sorry. If she told him everything now, he very well might just kick her out of the truck, and then she'd be truly alone; however, if she waited too long to break the news to him she'd be more or less manipulating him by withholding crucial information, making her no better than her father.

At the very least, tonight was not the night for any revelations to come to light. Better that she come to terms with what she could regarding her family, not the very least being what she should do moving forward as she no longer had a goal to work towards. Jacques had seen to that quite efficiently.

Still, what were the odds of Jaune coming across her in the storm and stopping to help her? Whether he was acting as Jaune or Crescent, he truly did have phenomenal timing.

"-em happy."

"Hmm?" Jaune's words brought her out own mind. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"I said 'you seem happy.' You've got a smile on your face."

"...I do?" To her surprise, she discovered that he was right. Her own lips were betraying her inner thoughts, and she found that she missed the sensation after a long of stress and tears. She allowed the smile to linger as she replied, "I was just thinking about a friend of mine."

"Ah." The word hung in the air for a moment, Jaune clearly more focused on driving as he made a left turn. Once he'd completed the move he said, rather hesitantly, "Weiss, I... know this is gonna sound cliche, and that you and I have an awkward history to say the least; but if you ever need to talk to somebody, I'm here for you. And if you have to confide in a girl instead of a guy, you're about to meet a whole bunch of girls with my last name so you'll have your pick of the litter. I only recommend not telling Lavender, because she has a sliiight problem with keeping secrets, you know, secret."

She gave a nod, a gesture she knew was received when he returned it. His phrasing, however, quickly caught her attention, "A whole bunch? How many people are we talking about?"

"I have seven sisters total, and you're about to meet five more of them."

 _Goodness_ ,' she thought. _'Either his parents adopted a number of children, or his mother is a very strong woman.'_

The light of the sun could still be seen through the weakened storm by the time they made it to the Arc home. As he shut off the truck and came around with the umbrella to walk her to the door, she could admit to feeling some trepidation about meeting his family. An ever-so-slight feeling of dread that simmered as Jaune fiddled with his keys to unlock the front door. What were the his sisters like? His parents?

Vermilion's words flashed through her mind. _"The Arc kids were all raised with a special brand of hospitality..."_

She glanced at Jaune as he finally managed to get the door open and felt that fear dissipate a bit; if they were anything like him, she suspected that they'd be just the type of people that she needed more of in her life.

Jaune loudly announced their presence as they crossed over the threshold. "I'm home early, everybody! We have a guest; execute cleaning order Gamma!"

Although no people could be spotted from the entryway, the immediate effect could still be heard: a flurry of feet began stomping throughout the first floor of the house, punctuated by the distinct sound of somebody's leg slamming into a table and muffling a curse or two. Jaune openly laughed as he shook the rainwater off of the umbrella and set it into the appropriate holder. When Weiss looked at him with a raised brow, he answered the silent question with, "Arc rule number four: when a guest is over, tidy up. I could've given them a heads up earlier, but it's way more fun this way."

"I see. A way to keep them on their toes, so to speak?"

"Pretty much. I'm willing to bet that the one with the hurt shin is Olive since she tends to slouch on the sofa." He pointed to a short piece of furniture nearby, with multiple spaces in it that were filled with shoes. "There's a spot in this cubby for your shoes. Go ahead and take them off."

"Thank you," she said as she complied. Her feet now covered only with her stockings, she allowed her toes to stretch on the hardwood floor. It felt good to be out of her broken heel.

A moment later a blonde figure came around the corner, massaging her leg as she walked. "Living room's good to go, now who's important enough to get the Gamma order?"

As Weiss examined the new arrival, she could've sworn that she was looking at a female Jaune. The girl had features almost identical to his, although she couldn't have been much taller than herself. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail that went just past the nape of her neck, which was hidden by the red Star Trek T-shirt she wore. The girl, who she deduced from Jaune's words to be Olive, was similarly looking her up and down. "Huh, I'm impressed Jaune. I was gonna ask if you brought a co-worker home, but the oversized shirt tells me that you're sharing your wardrobe now."

She felt blood creep up her neck in embarrassment as Jaune gave an awkward flush and cough, but she recovered before he did and introduced herself. "We don't have that kind of relationship, but I did get this uniform from his job. I'm Weiss Schnee, and it's a pleasure to meet you."

She stuck her hand out in greeting, which the other girl took without a single pause. "Olive Arc, likewise. So what brings you to our humble abode?"

"I was lost in the rain and Jaune helped me out of it."

"Sounds like him. Anyways, come in and make yourself at home." Olive stepped back and gestured to a room around the corner, with Weiss obeying as she took in the house. It was two-story and painted with the walls painted an earthy brown, and she felt strangely impressed as she walked into the living room. It was spacious, two large sofas facing each other in the middle with a table between them, and a wall-mounted Tv to the left that could be seen by anyone sitting on them.

There were many picture frames around the room, but she only just began to examine them properly when another girl appeared, this one appearing to be several years younger than Olive. Her hair was equally blond, if cut a bit short, but her eyes were a light-brown. She was wearing a yellow tank top with shorts and sandals on. "Kitchen's all ready to go. Nice to meet you, miss...?"

"Weiss Schnee, and likewise." She wondered how many times she'd be saying her own name that day.

The girl nodded. "Lavender Arc at your service. Tonight for dinner, we have my personally made macaroni and cheese with ham."

Jaune crossed his arms. "And the vegetable is?"

She didn't quite meet his eyes."...Macaroni and cheese with ham."

"Lav-"

The girl threw her hands into the air. "You weren't going to know since you shouldn't have been home tonight! Is it wrong that I only make the stuff I actually eat?"

"Yes, yes it is." Jaune sighed and gave Weiss an apologetic look. "If you aren't too hungry at the moment, I can take a minute to whip up some other food to balance my little sister's unhealthy mess."

"I'd hate to add anything else to your plate-" Her stomach chose that moment to make her aware of the fact that she hadn't even eaten before the meeting with the White Fang, growling loud enough to be heard by all of the Arcs. She fought to her blush down as she added, "-and I think my body is asking for food as soon as possible. If you don't mind."

Lavender grinned, no doubt pleased to have won the argument. "I'll set the table."

Yet another face popped up, leaning out from what appeared to be the kitchen. This girl had short sandy-blond hair, and appeared to be between Olive and Lavender in age. Her eyes were blue, though a few shades lighter than Jaune's. "It was order Gamma, remember? I already got the dining room set for eight people."

Jaune raised a thumb up in approval. "Good job, Jade. Weiss, this is Jade; Jade, Weiss Schnee."

Jade simply nodded, said "Charmed," and retracted her head from view. Jaune looked at Weiss and shrugged apologetically. "Please don't take that personally; she isn't trying to be rude, that's just normal her."

Weiss shook her head. "It's perfectly okay, but I have to ask: just what is order Gamma?"

"I can answer that one!" The next Arc child rounded the corner of the opposite end of the living room, and to Weiss's minor shock she looked almost identical to Jade, barring the fact that her eyes were brown. "Order Gamma means that we have a guest staying the night, and we need to get the house looking decent and not looking like a bomb went off. Sapphire, nice to meet you."

Weiss returned the greeting with her name and a handshake. "Why 'Gamma?'"

"Because it starts with 'G', as in 'guest.' There's also Terrier, meaning 'temporary pet,' and Alpha. The last one _technically_ isn't a cleaning plan, but it is at the same time."

Weiss scrunched her face up in confusion as the Arc children all began to file to the dining room. "How does that work?"

A strangely stiff voice answered from behind her. "We all conspire to drive the intruder out of the house, so I explain."

The source turned out to be the last-to-be-introduced Arc child, a girl that was identical to Lavender, without a single difference in their appearance outside of the purple tank top. "My name is Plum, honored guest, and it is an honor to meet you."

Jaune spoke up as he examined the table set-up. "Plum, talk normally."

"But this is normal, I insist urgently." Her voice neither fell nor rose in pitch, coming off as almost robotic in nature.

"No ice cream later."

It was like the flip of a switch as Plum brought both hands up defensively. "Okay, okay! Geez, let me have some fun."

"Not at Weiss's expense." He chuckled regardless. "How's Mom?"

"Tired; she's gonna eat later."

"Roger. Weiss, sit wherever you like."

The dining room table was long and rectangular, easily capable of fitting twelve people. Jaune took a seat at one end of the table, there were three chairs along each long side, and another chair at far end. Additional chairs were sitting along the wall in a neat row, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Weiss took one of the seats closest to Jaune as the others grabbed the other long side seats, leaving the opposite end chair emptry; probably for their mother, Weiss deduced.

Sapphire left and re-entered the room with a comically large pot. She placed the pot dead-center on the table and whipped out a ladle dramatically. "Order up, ladies and gent!"

Jaune slid his plate over. "I'll have the large, please."

Sapphire scooped out enough macaroni and cheese to fill his plate. "Next! Come on, we have a guest waiting on us."

And so the "orders" went around the table, with Sapphire dishing out the appropriate amount of food based on a call of small, medium, or large. Weiss was initially going to get a small, but she felt her stomach grumble again as she opened her mouth and quickly corrected it to a medium. The simple concoction didn't appear to be special, but as she dug in with her fork and took a bite she admitted to herself that it was quite delicious. It wasn't because of any special tricks or ingredients in it, but because the table around her felt so warm and inviting as the Arcs indulged in conversation while they ate; an act that was nearly sacrilege in the Schnee estate, but felt so very right in this odd ensemble of characters.

As she got her fill of food, she allowed herself a small sigh of contentment. Addressing Lavender, she said, "Thank you very much, it was delicious. Is that your favorite dish to make?"

"Nah, my favorite is making sandwiches; but thank you for the praise!"

Olive cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. She remained in her seat, but it was clear that she wanted to talk about something. "This has been great, but I think it's time to proceed with the time-honored tradition that the Arc children started when Vermilion first brought somebody of the opposite sex home."

To her right, Jaune buried his head in his hands. "Oh no... Weiss, I am so sorry to put you through this."

Her head whipped back and forth between Olive and Jaune. "What's going on?"

Olive leaned over from across the table with a gleam in her eye. "Oh, nothing much; we're just asking you few simple questions... questions like 'so, Weiss, how do you know my brother?'"

X

 **Dun-dun-duuuuuun! I wanted to end this chapter on a lighter note after the drama bomb of chapter seven. The proper ages of the Arc children shall be revealed next time.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it. Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day/night!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** **This chapter has an optional song accompaniment for those of you who are interested. If you are, go to (You)Tube and look up "Ukulele weeps" by James Shimabukuro and hit play when the song comes up in the chapter.** **You'll know that it's the right video if it has over 15 million views.**

 **Enjoy!**

X

- **Weiss** -

The house was perfectly warm, but Weiss felt her insides chill just the slightest amount at Olive's question. In hindsight she should've been prepared for his sisters to be curious about any relationship between herself and Jaune, but right at that moment she was caught a bit off-guard. To her right, she saw that Jaune had almost resigned himself to this fate, so she decided to do the same for the moment. "We... met each other at Beacon. We're classmates, although we don't have any classes together this year."

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "Just classmates? Really."

"Yes, really."

Olive leaned back in her seat, wearing a grin that was not unlike a predator knowing it had its prey trapped. "Then why does your name sound sooo familiar?"

Jaune seemed prepared for that question and jumped to answer it. "It's her last name on the electricity bill, you know? The Schnee Electric Company."

"Oh, _Jaune_." Weiss felt her toes curl from the sugar-coated words Olive was spilling. "We all figured that bit out in a heartbeat, but you know as well as we do that's not what I meant. Lavender, will you help me remember how that song went?"

Lavender rose from her chair, dramatically clearing her throat before beginning to sing. "Weiss Schneeee, will you accompany meeee-"

Jaune practically jumped up from his chair. "OKAY! Okay! This is her, just... please don't bring that song up again."

For Weiss's part, the admittedly bad tune came with a sense of nostalgia, tinged with no small amount of shame. It reminded her of when she was convinced that Jaune was the kind of guy who only wanted to be with her for her money and influence. After coming to grips with him being Crescent, as well as his actions ever since finding her in the rain, she knew that he was not at all the type of boy to do that.

 _'Actually,'_ she mused, _'since he isn't some miscreant, I wonder why Jaune was so persistent with getting my attention last year?'_

A question for later.

Her attention returned to the present just in time, because Sapphire had turned to look at her and was asking, "So I get that you aren't actually going out with big bro here, but what _did_ you think of that song when he wrote and sang it for you?"

There was no point in denying what happened, but she made sure to at least keep her tone gentle. "I was less than impressed and rejected him."

"Ow!" Jaune made an exaggerated gesture out of holding his chest like he'd been shot. The Arc girls giggled a bit, which was soon followed by Jaune himself having a brief laugh. "It really was awful, wasn't it? I'm so sorry for putting you through that."

Weiss waved the apology away. "As you said before, it's in the past. There's no use dwelling on it."

Jade, who had remained silent up to this point, pulled out a notebook and began writing something down. Once she was finished, she said, "It is rather humorous how things come around. First Jaune crushes on you, then he starts bragging about that Crystal girl. After that he has a quote 'not-date' with Yang, and now we've taken you in as a guest."

"Don't forget," added Lavender, "that he's going to the dance with that Pyrrha girl. Jaune's going places in his romantic life."

The sudden influx of information surprised Weiss, causing her to look at Jaune and ask, rather inelegantly, "You've had a date with Yang?"

"It wasn't a date," he answered as he finally sat back down in his chair. "I was feeling down after I had a bad Saturday, and Yang took me to play some video games to cheer me up."

The mood around the table rapidly shifted to the grim side, and Olive looked Jaune dead in the eyes as she said, "You're sugar-coating it again. Say it properly: that Crystal _bitch_ stood you up."

Weiss felt herself flinch from the sheer venom of the word, particularly so since they were talking about _her_.

"Olive." Jaune's tone was clear; he was issuing a warning. "I know that all of you are angry for my sake, but don't go badmouthing my friend so casually, especially with a guest here."

"Your friend? So you're really just willing to forgive her for abandoning you without a word?" Sapphire scoffed. "Today's Wednesday, so it's been... four whole days now? Has she messaged you at _all?"_

"That's not the point-"

"That's exactly the point," interrupted Jade. Unlike the others she had yet to raise her voice; however, that only added to the ice in her words. "You were wronged by her, and it's our job as your sisters to look out for you."

Jaune opened his mouth to retort, but instead opted to take a couple deep breaths and slow himself down. The fact that all of this tension was directly her fault was beginning to eat Weiss alive. "Look, you girls want the best for me; never doubt that I love you all so much for that. But it's my life, okay? Let me live it."

Plum stood up, causing everybody present to look at her in expectation; instead of speaking, however, she turned on her heel and walked out of the dining room. Olive took a deep breath of her own, although it didn't seem to calm her down much. Maybe the girl is naturally tense? "Fine, but we're allowed to have opinions of our own. The Arcs stick together, and as your sisters we aren't about to let somebody walk all over you."

"I know. Thank you." Jaune looked at Weiss and sighed. "I'm sorry you got caught up in that. We shouldn't have let our emotions run so high."

"A-all is forgiven. Let us shift to happier topics, shall we?" She felt pretty unsettled, and for multiple reasons now. Foremost was the fact that she'd been the cause of a major argument between Jaune and his sisters, but also the sheer _hatred_ in his sisters voices as they talked about her...

As things stood right then, Crystal was not welcome in the Arc home. Her job of apologizing to Jaune had just become exponentially harder.

Wait, what was she supposed to be doing? Oh, happier topic. Right. "So, Lavender said that you're going to the dance with Pyrrha?"

Jaune's expression relaxed into something a bit more comfortable. "Yeah, she asked me to be her escort on Monday. Thank goodness my suit from last year still fits."

"Not to interrupt," said Plum as she did just that while sticking her head in around the doorway, "but there's a person named Klein here for Weiss. You all were so loud that only I heard him knocking on the door."

"Oh! Thank you, Plum." Rising from her chair, she made her way to the front door as the dance conversation continued behind her. As promised, Klein was standing in the entryway with two suitcases beside him, but Weiss ignored her belongings in favor of bringing the older man into a light hug.

Klein was surprised for only a moment before returning the gesture, his lips shifting into a smile as he pulled away. "I'm so glad that you're safe, Miss Schnee. I was so worried when you walked out into the storm like that."

"I know you were, and I apologize for causing you concern. I wasn't thinking, and..." Her voice drifted off, not quite sure how to continue the thought.

Klein shook his head. "As long as you're well, that's all that matters my dear. Now, as you instructed, I brought you two days worth of daily wear and school uniforms, as well as your books of course. And here-"

He reached into his jacket pocket, bringing out her phone and handing it over. "The charger is in one of the cases. It's likely a good thing that you left it, as being in the pouring rain might've ruined it."

"That's certainly true," she replied as she absentmindly entered her password. A brief moment later, she was looking at the messages she'd received on Beaconbook; messages that, as Sapphire correctly guessed, she still hadn't responded to. That would have to be corrected. "Thank you again, Klein."

"Ah, so you must be our new houseguest."

A new voice grabbed both of their attention, causing Weiss to turn to see who it was. An older woman was in the hallway, and when Weiss met her eyes she gave a motherly smile. The woman had wiry brown hair, but far more attention grabbing was how thin she was; as if a light breeze could knock her over. Her eyes were bright and attentive, however, so whatever has caused her to be so frail-looking must be purely physical. "I'm Juniper Arc. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Weiss bowed her head a bit. "I am Weiss Schnee, and this man is Klein, a butler in my family's estate. Thank you so much for allowing me into your home."

Klein gave a considerably more pronounced bow. "Allow me extend my gratitude as well, Mrs. Arc."

The woman gave a light laugh. "There's no need to be so formal, but I accept your thanks regardless. If I may ask, how long are you expecting to need a place here?"

She felt her face fall a little. "I... I hope to be out of your home in a day or two, but I must confess that the problem at home probably won't be resolved. You see, I-"

Juniper gently raised a hand to cut her off. "While I don't know your story, I'm not so cruel as to make you explain yourself after what must've been a trying day. You may have the room for as little or as long as you need, but if it extends beyond this weekend I'm likely to give you a chore or two to do around the house. Take this time to figure out what you want to do."

"I see. Thank you again." It was a more generous offer than she'd expected, but it lined up with Vermilion's explanation of the Arc family's hospitality. She could only thank Oum for being able to find refuge with them.

Klein pulled out a pocket watch to check the time. "I need to head back to the estate now, but don't be afraid to call me again if you need me Ms. Schnee."

"I know, Klein. It was good to see you tonight." They shared another hug before he departed, and as he walked out to the car Weiss noticed that the rain had finally let up completely. It seemed fitting, in a way.

Mrs. Arc walked her to the guest bedroom, which was on the first floor and down the hall from the master bedroom. Weiss took a few moments to separate her belongings, and before long she had her clothes in the closet and her phone plugged in. Glancing at the open door to ensure that she was alone, she opened the Beaconbook app and composed a new message to Crescent. To Jaune.

 _Crystal: Crescent, first and foremost I am sorry. Sorry for leaving you with nary a clue as to what was happening in my life. What I did was inexcusable, no matter what my circumstances were._ _I regret to say that I cannot tell you in detail what has transpired since we last spoke, but I can tell you that I am okay now. Not great, but okay. I hope this message finds you well. Good night, and I hope you can still call me friend._

As she hit the send button and put her phone away, there was a light knock on the open door. Olive was standing there with a smile on her face and her arms crossed. "Sorry to bother you, Weiss, but we need your input on something."

"What is it?"

"This Pyrrha girl, how does she act around Jaune in school? Jaune seems convinced that there's nothing genuinely romantic between them and that they're just going as friends, but the way he described her behavior seems a little suspect."

"I'll tell you everything I've seen and know, but just to be clear: are you going to hold this over his head?"

"Maybe." Olive's smile turned smirk told the full story, and Weiss felt a small, mischievous grin appear at the thought of getting to tease Jaune a little bit. After all, what are friends for if not for teasing each other from time to time?

"So here's the deal..."

- **Yang** -

Stretching her arms over her head as she sat up in bed, she felt a satisfying pop in the small of her back that made her grin to herself. It was Thursday morning, and time for her pretty little butt to get up. Getting her Beacon uniform on took less than two minutes; getting her hair properly brushed took half an hour. Sure it was difficult, especially on days with high humidity, but it was always worth it to look her best and turn heads.

 _Especially a certain blonde's head._

Yang shook the thought out of her head with haste. She wasn't trying to impress Jaune, she told herself; she just wants to look good and be a good friend to him. That was why she'd set Pyrrha up with him, after all. Everyone would be happy this way.

Her fair mood now spoiled a little by her traitorous mind, she made her way downstairs to eat breakfast. Ruby was there ahead of her, as usual, and when she unceremoniously plopped a cereal bowl onto the table her little sister slid her the milk. "Morning, Yang. You seem a little down."

"Just a rough sleep, is all. So, Ruby, is today the day you let me drive you to school on Bumblebee?"

She rolled her eyes. "Only if you've magically gotten a sidecar in the last twenty-four hours. I love you, sis, but I don't trust your driving when I'm having to hold onto you for dear life."

"Suit yourself. Just don't miss the bus." They'd had this conversation any number of times, but Yang was conpelled by some strange older sister sense of duty to help Ruby look cooler around the school.

Sidecars are not cool. At all.

Yang wound up leaving the house earlier than she strictly needed to, and part of her wasn't quite sure why she did that. Maybe it was to get a chance to talk to some friends before class started. Thankfully the school was relatively close to her house, so she didn't have much time to contemplate the real reason she left when she did.

When she pulled into the school parking lot and cut off the engine, her eyes automatically scanned the area for a particular green truck and she was rewarded by the sight of said truck and a tall head of blonde hair across the lot. Retrieving her bag from her bike, she unconsciously set her pace to match the timing of Jaune nearing the school doors, his figure popping in and out between the cars as she walked. As her feet stepped onto the sidewalk, she began to raise her hand in a greeting when she witnessed something that shouldn't be true. Something that couldn't be happening.

Jaune was walking alongside Weiss, and they were happily chatting away with each other. He said something that Yang couldn't hear from where she was, but Weiss started to laugh before suddenly holding a hand to her nose. Jaune reached into a box he had attached to his bookbag and pulled out a Kleenex, which Weiss seemed grateful to accept.

 _What... How... Huh?!_

That was the moment that Jaune noticed her presence and waved at her with a smile as he approached. "Morning, Yang. How's it going?"

Her brain took a second to reboot, but reboot it did and she put on her go-to friendly smile as she fell into step with them. "All's good on my end. Am I safe in assuming that Weiss is a little sick right now?"

"Juuust a little bit," he teased. "She decided to play outside in the rain yesterday and her body's now paying the price."

"Vewey funny," Weiss countered as she blew into the tissue. Nose seemingly cleared a little, she continued, "How did you not get sick, anyways?"

"Easy, I wasn't soaking wet like you were."

The light sense of companionship wasn't being faked. These two had, seemingly over night, gone from the rejected and rejectee to tissue-sharing friends. Once again: how? What in Remnant could have happened to spark this?

Her eyes met Weiss's, causing the latter to stiffen a bit before she continued to walk. In that action alone Yang could detect some level of guilt... or was it fear? Hell, it could be both. Weiss had every reason to feel awful about everything that happened, and Yang still felt no remorse for threatening the girl. Despite both of those things, however, here they were; pretending that nothing had happened that Monday morning.

That begged the question: what should she do? Was Jaune aware of everything, or was he still in the dark? What should she do now that his precious, little Crystal was daring to approach him in person?

As she separated from the two at her locker and promised to see them at lunch, she took a moment to compose herself. She could tell that she wasn't thinking with all six engine cylinders, but there was a simmering layer of anger pervading her thoughts.

She needed more information. Details on how they'd gotten buddy-buddy, and what Weiss was _thinking_ she was doing that was remotely okay.

As their class schedule would have it, any questions for the white-haired miss had to wait until lunch at the earliest. The bell for lunch rang, and Yang darted through the halls to reach the cafeteria; unfortunately, many other students had the same idea, resulting in her nearly knocking a few people over as a stampede of hungry students made their way through the halls. Once she was done with the lunch line, she walked to what was practically their designated table and surveyed the scene.

Pyrrha was next to Jaune as always, and Weiss was sitting directly across from him. Jaune's other side was occupied by Nora (with Ren sitting next to her, naturally) and the spots beside Weiss were filled by Ruby and Blake, meaning she couldn't even slip the heiress look or note if she tried. Resigning herself to not getting any answers, she re-equipped her smile and sat down opposite Ren. "So everybody beat me here today. Did I miss anything fun?"

"Nah," answered Nora. "But it's good to have the gang all here!"

"I agree," followed Pyrrha with a smile. "It feels right for us all to be seated together."

She wanted to disagree, but that wasn't a good time to start an argument. Before she could offer a stock line of agreement, Nora jumped from her seat and pointed a finger at Jaune. "I forgot to tell you! I need you to come to the band room right after classes let out."

Beat. "Nora, what did you sign me up for?"

Nora had the grace to look sheepish. "Weeell, you seeee... there's this freshmen guitar player that's being made to play the ukulele for a song in the spring, but he's already whining and acting all 'oh, the ukulele is a toy guitar, and anyone who plays it looks like a sissy, and wah wah wah.' So I made a bet with him that I knew a guy who could make the ukulele look and sound amazing: you!"

Jaune put his fork down and covered his face with his other hand. "Really, Nora?"

"Sorry! But if you swing by and blow him out of the water, he's agreed to play it without any complaining. Ms. Autumn agreed to let you perform for everybody before practice today, so can you please, please, pleeeease do it?"

"I don't know..." He looked pretty uncertain about it. "I've got a song that could work, but I'm out of practice on the uku."

Pyrrha perked up next to him. "You've actually played the ukulele?"

"Sophomore year, and it was just for the one band song and a different song I learned off of the internet."

Yang's curiosity was peaked, partially because she was of the "ukuleles are weird" camp, too. But if it's Jaune playing... "Hey, if you're about to school some freshmen, then I wanna watch the show live."

Jaune raised an eyebrow, but Weiss followed up with, "I must admit that I'm interested as well, Jaune, but-" _-sniffle, tissue-_ "I'd hate for you to be late to your work shift."

He shook his head. "Sis always schedules my shifts to give me some time between school and work, so there's almost never a problem there. I just don't like being told that I'm doing this kinda at the last minute; I could screw it up, and then the band's stuck with some upstart freshman all year."

Nora grimaced at more or less being called out, but it was Yang herself who spoke up. "Jaune, you're an amazing guitar player. I've got no doubt that you'll rock that little mini-guitar today."

Jaune met her eyes, and she gave him a thumbs up of approval. Pyrrha had a complicated expression on her face, however, and that was when Yang realized that she'd just stolen a prime opportunity for the redhead to look even better in Jaune's eyes. Whoops. Still, it seemed to have inspired him, because he nodded back to her and said, "Fine, Nora, I'll do it. And if it goes like you need it to, I'm gonna charge you a fee."

"Deal!" Nora threw both of her hands up in glee while Ren smiled and shook his head. Next to her Ruby grumbled something about having to miss the show because she takes the bus, so Yang just pat her on the head and reoffered the bike ride, which was refused once again.

Once lunch was done and the bell rang to return to class, Yang tried to hang back to talk to Weiss; however, Blake seemed to have the same idea, and Yang could only watch as Belladonna grabbed the Schnee by the shoulder and whispered something. She couldn't make out any of the words, but Blake's face made it apparent that she was concerned about whatever it was. After a moment, Weiss whispered something back that seemed to lessen Blake's worry, and they shared a brief, yet warm, smile before going their separate ways.

It looked like she was going to have to wait a little longer to get her answers.

- **Pyrrha** -

Pyrrha felt that this week couldn't possibly get any better.

After all, how could she not be on cloud nine? She was actually going to the dance with Jaune this Saturday! Sure, they weren't 'together-together' for it; but this was a solid step in the right direction, and she could only thank Yang for giving her that little oomph she needed to ask him out.

As she sat down in Professor Port's class, she tuned out what would no doubt be another well-intentioned but dull story and freely allowed her mind to wander to the past...

 _As a young child living in Vale, she'd always loved playing in the neighborhood park. She would test how quickly she could maneuver through the jungle gym bars, or how high and far she could jump off of the swings. In some ways she was a thrill seeker; but rather than it being about the supposed thrills, it was about testing herself. Feeling out her limits, and then smashing them however she could._

 _This attitude wasn't without its costs. Other girls her age preferred playing in the sand, or playing house, or with dolls. Those weren't bad things, of course, but it never felt like she was **accomplishing** anything when she did those activities, and she inevitably wound up feeling bored. Thus, she turned to the local boys for companionship._

 _That, naturally, came with its own share of problems. They hit it off great at first, due to her being more than willing to run and shove with the lot of them, and they had a blast. It turns out, however, that while boys love it when you play along with them, they're considerably less enthusiastic about you being better than them. Ultimately, the band of boys would disperse when she arrived, leaving her to fly solo numerous times._

 _Truly, children are such difficult creatures._

 _But one afternoon, when she went to the park determined to set a personal record for "distance jump off of the swing", she discovered that both swings were already taken by a pair of siblings: a young blonde boy about her age, and his older sister. The boy was happily going back and forth at his own pace, while the girl was simply using the swing as a seat, looking bored as she stared off into the distance._

 _Sensing that the older girl wasn't actually there to play, Pyrrha walked up to them and asked, "Excuse me, may I use that swing?"_

 _"Knock yourself out, kid."_ _The girl hopped off and walked away, leaving the two younger ones alone. As she placed herself in the now empty swing, she met the eyes of the boy and gave him a polite smile. He returned it, adding a little hand wave before going at his own pace once more._

 _Focusing her mind, she zeroed in on the point in the sand that she knew to be her personal record. Kicking off with her feet, it only took a few swings for her to reach her full momentum. She began silently counting down to her launch._

 _Three... two... one... Now!_

 _Releasing just before the apex of her forward swing, she sailed through the air with her feet held tightly together and her hands out wide. She hit the ground with a heavy thump, but maintained her posture as she absorbed the force of the blow by bending her knees like the athletes she saw on T.v. She glanced at the ground._

 _She was just shy of her record. Darn it!_

 _"That. was. AWESOME!"_

 _The exclamation made her jump, and she turned around to see that the boy had stopped and was openly gawking at her. "How did you do that?! I've never even made half of that on a jump!"_

 _She preened a bit at the earnest praise, happy that she'd managed to impress someone even if she hadn't actually broken a record. "Would you like me to show you?"_

 _"Please!" It was single word from a boy she'd never met before, but to her (and in hindsight, her admittedly friendless mind) it seemed to hold so much power. She spent the next ten to fifteen minutes coaching him, explaining how to build speed quickly and at what points in her swing she could get the best jumps. He listened as if he were a sponge absorbing her water of knowledge, and she enjoyed every moment of his enthusiastic expressions._

 _A voice eventually called out to them, belonging to the older girl from earlier. "It's time to go, squirt. Say goodbye to red and let's get home."_

 _"Aww." The boy seemed bummed out for a second, but he soon bounced back and asked, "Hey, will you be here on Friday?"_

 _"I think so," Pyrrha replied. "You want to play again then?"_

 _"Yeah! It's been fun, uh..." He tilted his head in confusion. "What's your name?"_

 _She giggled a little bit. "I'm Pyrrha. Pyrrha Nikos."_

 _He stuck a hand out, which she shook happily. "It was nice to meet you, Pyrrha, and my name's Jaune!"_

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The bell for the next class rang, and Pyrrha realized with a start that she'd blissfully reminisced throughout the entire class. Thankfully the homework reading was written on the board, so she mentally filed the info away and proceeded to her next class. She chastised herself to be more careful in the future.

Once the final dismissal bell rang for the day, she unloaded all of her unnecessary school books in her locker and powerwalked to the band room, unwilling to miss even a moment of Jaune performing. She technically had practice that day, but she was already prepared to lie and say that she needed to talk to one of her other teachers for an assignment.

When she moved back to Vale from Mistral, she had been happy to learn that Jaune had taken quite happily to a hobby of music playing in the band (for his first two years of high school, at least); but her athletic schedule always seemed to interfere with being able to listen to him, so today would be the first legitimate chance she had to be an audience member.

Upon entering through the double doors of the band room, she discovered that seemingly all of the band were already in their seats and chatting away or warming up their instruments. Weiss was having a conversation with the director while Yang gabbed away with Nora by the drum set. Ren was nearby, neither talking nor holding an instrument; Nora once called him a roadie. She duly noted that there was a boy with an electric guitar sitting by an amplifier; his brown hair was gelled up into a wall of sorts at the front of his hairline, and he had his arms crosssed as he waited for something. There was a ukulele sitting along the wall next to him, so she deduced that this was the boy that Nora made the bet with.

Where was Jaune-

"Sorry I'm late, took longer than I should've to finish a test."

 _Speak of the devil_ , she thought with amusement as he walked in. He set his bookbag along the wall as some of the band members greeted him warmly, asking him what he'd been up to since he left. Pyrrha knew that Jaune had to quit the band to make time for work, which always saddened her to think that he had to stop doing what he loved so he could help support his family.

Jaune finished with his pleasantries and walked to grab the ukulele in question, smiling at her as he passed. "Hey, Pyrrha. Glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she returned warmly. Now wasn't the time to appeal to him, so she continued with, "I think that boy over there is the reason you're here."

"I agree." Jaune's smile shifted into an amused smirk as he approached his destination. "You must be the little troublemaker that brought me out of retirement."

The freshmen scoffed. "And you must be the so-called 'ukulele god.' The name's Cobalt."

"I'm Jaune, but... Ukulele god?" He looked over at Nora. "Just how much did you hype me up?"

"A lot, Jaune-Jaune. A lot."

Everyone present laughed as Jaune facepalmed; it was so Nora of her that they couldn't help but enjoy the scene. Before the conversation could derail any further, Ms. Autumn called out to Cobalt and said, "The deal was that if Jaune here can impress you, you'll play the ukulele without any more complaints. If he succeeds but you still complain, I _will_ dock your grade down the line. Are we agreed?"

Cobalt spread his hands in a taunt. "Show me what you've got, Music Man."

Jaune gently grabbed the ukulele and began tuning it by ear, talking to the room at large as he did so. "The older band students know the story, but I'll share it for those of you who don't know it. Last year, while I was still in the band, Ms. Autumn had me play the ukulele just like Cobalt here. I was fine with doing it, but I had no idea what a good ukulele player actually sounded like, you know?"

To Pyrrha, it felt so strange to see Jaune in his element. He's always affable and friendly, but he just seemed so at home with the shockingly small instrument. Jaune was still talking, "So I go online to find some examples of good players, and I find this video of a guy from Vacuo who was just _amazing_. After listening to it a few times I said to myself 'I _need_ to learn this song,' so here we are. I'm playing that man's ukulele arrangement of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps.' Here we go."

Jaune's fingers began picking through the individual strings, and it took only a few seconds worth of an apparent warm-up for him to begin start playing an extremely soothing piece. Pyrrha began to imagine herself relaxing on the beaches of Vacuo as he shifted back and forth between plucking and strumming, emphasizing the volume of the latter while the former wowed her with his precision. She wasn't well-versed in any musical arts, so she simply let the soft tones wash over her.

Suddenly, Jaune began focusing almost exclusively on strumming, his body lightly bobbing up and down as he began playing faster and louder. What surprised her was that despite the increase in intensity, the notes never lost their crispness, each string discernible on its own without detracting from the whole. Cobalt, who seemed to have been only mildly impressed with the first section, was leaning forward with an expression of awe.

At the song's loudest it didn't seem too technically difficult, but by that point Jaune already had the room in his grasp. After some nearly frantic strumming at the climax of the piece Jaune brought the volume down and went to picking each string with a different finger on each, but the sheer speed of his playing took several more moments to wind down. The song ended with soft tones almost identical to the beginning of it, her dear musician allowing the tension in his shoulders to roll away as it came to a close.

Once the final note faded away, every soul present, even Cobalt and the director herself, rose to give him a standing ovation. Jaune accepted it with a bow, almost blushing when a student shouted out "You've still got it, man!"

Once the applause finished, Jaune handed the ukulele to Cobalt with both hands. "Does that encourage you to play it next semester?"

Cobalt's hands were almost trembling as he accepted it. "Y-yeah, man. Holy crap that was amazing!"

"Well, thank you very-"

The younger boy wasn't done gushing, however. "I mean it was phenomenal! Like-like, couldn't you go professional with that?!"

It was a subtle change to most, but Pyrrha noticed that he seemed almost sad. "I wish I could, man."

The song had been a true experience for her, being able to see the man she cared for so happy for a few fleeting moments. She knew that she would be forever glad she stayed to watch him that day.

Ms. Autumn then called the band to attention, which was the cue for the outsiders to leave. As Yang, Weiss, Jaune, and Pyrrha herself walked into the hallway, she took that moment to bid farewell. "I need to head to practice now, but I'm so glad that I got to watch you perform, Jaune. Will you text me when you get out of work?"

He smiled that glorious smile of his. "Sure thing, Pyrrha. You ready to go, Weiss?"

"Indeed I am. We'll see the two of you tomorrow; farewell." Weiss and Jaune waved goodbye to the two left behind, leaving Pyrrha to blink several times in confusion. Since when did those two start commuting to and from school together?

She turned to ask Yang that very question, but was greeted with the sight of Yang giving Weiss's back a small, yet pronounced, glare.

What in Remnant was going on here?

X

 **Is it freshmen or freshman when referring to it as a singular year? I can never remember.**

 **Thanks to re-reading my story up to this point, I discovered that I forgot to retcon several of the Arc children names. Oops! Sorry for any confusion.**

 **On a funnier note, while writing this chapter I was contemplating creating an AO3 account; so, I went to the website and discovered that they're having spam problems and thus have stopped account creations for a while. Oops again!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll catch you later, and have a nice day!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Goodness this came out quickly... How?**

 **Muse: Who even knows?**

X

- **Weiss** -

Weiss Schnee was stunned. Shocked. Subject to a turn of events so out of left field that if she were a baseball player she would have whiplash from the sheer speed of the metaphorical ball.

And it had little to do with Jaune Arc!

Mind you that was _not_ because the boy had failed to impress her; indeed, the display of raw musical talent he'd shown earlier that day had caught her incredibly off-guard. Due to her only prior experience with his music being the awful "Weiss Schnee" tune, she'd had unfortunately low expectations regarding his overall skill level; but when Nora, and to a different extent Yang, displayed absolute confidence in him, she had to admit that her curiosity was peaked.

Come the time for his performance, her mouth had physically hung open for several moments as he blew any misunderstandings about his abilities out of the water. Being familiar with music herself, she understood exactly how difficult his showing had been to pull off. How many endless hours of practice had Jaune put into his guitar playing? And according to his sisters, he could sing as well?! She absolutely had to hear it if the opportunity arose.

But what had her stunned right at that moment was only indirectly related to Jaune, as it was instead about his sisters. After listening to Olive's words, she could only stare back into her eyes before firmly stating, "You're lying."

Olive was grinning, no doubt having anticipated her reaction to this revelation. "On my mother's honor, it's true."

"Lavender and Plum are a full year apart?! I can't believe that!"

"I know, they look exactly alike; but the only twins in this family are Sapphire and Jade, and even they have slight differences as you've seen."

Weiss put a hand to her temple in awe. "Your mother, bless her heart, had eight children out of seven pregnancies. She is a much stronger woman that I ever anticipated."

"Right?" They were seated around the living room table, Jaune having left for work an hour ago and the other sisters enjoying the sanctuary of their shared rooms playing board games. Olive offered Weiss a gummy worm from her bag, which she kindly accepted, and continued to speak. "Think about the age spread, as well. Vermilion is the oldest at twenty three, and Lavender's the youngest at ten. For at least thirteen years, there was _plenty_ of love between our happy parents."

Despite being older by two years, Weiss felt herself flush at Olive's tone of voice. Over the last twenty-four hours, she'd learned very well that the fourth Arc child spoke her mind freely and without any sort of filter. That wasn't to say that younger four were shy, just that Olive said exactly what was on her mind unedited. At fifteen years old, she certainly had a mouth on her.

That thought raised another question for Weiss. "You said that you're fifteen, correct? Shouldn't you be a freshman at Beacon instead of still being at Signal?"

"Should be; not, though." It was said sinply, no real inflection in her voice. "I got into an 'incident' near the end of my seventh grade year. Got held back, and here I am today."

"If it isn't untoward of me, may I ask what happened?"

Olive shrugged. "You're much more polite about it than some other people are. The long and the short of it is that one of my classmates, a boy, thought that it'd be funny to crack a dead dad joke at me. Naturally I didn't think it was so funny, and his response when I said so was 'well, maybe your dad deserved to die!' You can imagine how well I reacted to that."

Weiss took in a sharp breath of air. It was remarkably cruel of the unnamed boy to say such a thing, but having dealt with Whitley and his mental torment just the day prior she couldn't say it was impossible to believe. What surprised her more, however, was Olive's attitude. "You seem to be calm about it now, discussing it with me."

"It's in the past, and I don't have to deal with him anymore. Besides-" Olive had a light smirk at this point. "-I broke his arm in two places. It's safe to say that he and I are more than even."

Suddenly, Weiss was reminded of when Yang had held her up by her collar and nearly pummeled her. Clearly, Olive and Yang were not dissimilar from each other. Weiss shook her head to clear the image and said, "Still, no one should have their deceased family mocked."

"I couldn't agree more; still, again, it's in the past. We all still feel dad's passing, of course, but the Arc family has coped well enough so far." Olive took a moment to rip the head (tail?) of a worm off with her teeth. "To tell you the truth, what bothers me more is Jaune working to pay our bills. I can't wait until I'm legally allowed to work and can take the burden off of him."

"That reminds me of another question I had: I know that Vermilion is helping however she can, but where is your second oldest sister? Apricot, Jaune said her name was?"

Olive snorted, and for her tone finally shifted from neutral to annoyed. "Apricot; she is just a peach, let me tell you. She's off in Mistral being an actress and living the dream. If I sound bitter it's because I am, because little miss 'it's all about me' won't send a penny even though she's actually making some decent dough. Much more than Vermilion, once you take in the latter having to pay off the loan from the bank for the restaurant."

So Apricot was the black sheep of the family, then. With eight children it may well have been inevitable for at least one of the flock to have a different coat. Weiss was about to make a comment, but when she looked back at Olive the girl seemed wrapped up in her own head. "Is something the matter?"

"Just... thinking about my options. A while back Jaune made a comment saying that he didn't want me to get a job at sixteen, in favor of me going to college instead of working. We got into a argument about it, without any kind of resolution." Olive gave a small but audible gasp. "I've got an idea! But-"

She looked around the room conspiratorially before addressing Weiss directly. "I know we just met yesterday, Weiss, but can you help me with something while keeping it a secret from Jaune?"

The idea of keeping an additional secret from him didn't bode well in her mind, but she could guess that Olive's 'secret' seemed to have helping Jaune himself in mind. She wanted to do something for him if she could, but she _didn't_ want to sign up for something too large or volatile for her to handle. Weiss decided to hedge her words by saying, "That would depend on what it is you want me to do."

"Okay, so hear me out. I'll be turning sixteen next summer, and I might be able to convince Vermilion to take me on as a waitress. That's the easy part. You and Yang will have the hard part of helping me convince Jaune to A) let me work to support the family instead of him and B) get him to follow his dream of playing music. You with me so far?"

It wasn't a bad plan by any stretch, but... "Yes, and at the same time not quite. Why Yang specifically? Couldn't I just work with you and your sisters?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" She seemed genuinely surprised. "Yang's been coming by our house almost every Sunday to listen to Jaune sing and play. She understands perfectly well _just_ how good he is and how much he loves it. And anyways I feel like, as his sisters, Jaune is even more inclined to ignore us if we're trying to take some of his burden onto ourselves. But you, Yang, and that Pyrrha girl I guess, are in the perfect position to give him a push in the right direction."

In the blink of an eye, Yang's animosity towards her suddenly had the clarity of a perfect diamond. Weiss had previously believed that Yang had acted only as one of Jaune's good friends when she admonished her for her transgressions. But making weekly house visits for the sole purpose of seeing and listening to Jaune? While Weiss was a novice in the ways of romance, that kind of dedication clearly indicated feelings of a much deeper nature.

Weiss let that soak in for a moment. _Yang likes Jaune. She got mad in order protect Jaune from_ _me because he's special to her._

This immediately created a huge obstacle for Olive's plan, even if the younger girl didn't know it yet. Judging from the looks that she'd received from Yang earlier that day, Yang was nowhere _near_ okay with her being friendly with Jaune, particularly so if she (Yang) had romantic feelings for him. This meant that Yang would be far from willing to work with her in any type of scheme, even if it was for Jaune's own sake. Olive's plan was, essentially, doomed from the start.

It was better not to lead her on, then. "I'm sorry, Olive. I can tell that you have the best of intentions, and I want to help; but Yang and I have a bit of a history and it's safe to assume that she would not respond well to working with me. Even for Jaune."

"Wha-" Her words seemed to catch in her throat, but she recovered quickly enough. "I was gonna ask what history, but that's not even important. Look, I'll try to convince Yang myself, okay? She likes all of us, especially Lavender for reasons I can't decipher, so I'm pretty sure we can get her to budge for Jaune's sake."

Weiss couldn't help but to frown. Olive truly wanted this from the bottom of her heart, but one cannot overcome a typhoon through willpower alone. Olive sensed her trepidation and followed up with, "You don't have to answer right now. It'll be a while before I can legally work anyways, so take your time and think about it. I'll focus on Yang in the meantime."

"I'll... give it some thought. But if Yang still hates me, the whole thing will likely go up in smoke." Strictly speaking, she would actually be okay with the plan since she couldn't bring herself to actively hate Yang. What happened Saturday was her fault, after all, and romantic feelings or not Yang had Jaune's best interests at heart. "Talk to Yang and... let me know how goes, okay?"

"Okay!" That seemed to put her at ease, and Olive relaxed enough to consume the rest of her fruit-flavored dirt crawler. "Okay, heavy talk done for now. You want to move to a lighter topic?"

"Please." Pretty please, in fact.

"Cool. So I know Jaune's going with Pyrrha to the dance, but who are you going with, Weiss?"

Well, damn. It was indeed lighter, but not much easier. "I actually don't have a date to the dance. At first, I-"

-Was supposed to be going with Jaune, she finished in her head. Before last weekend the answer was "Crescent"; but she messed that up herself quite efficiently. A glance at Olive revealed that the girl was waiting for her to finish, so she cleared her throat and said, "There was a boy I was originally going with, but I wound up pushing him away and hurting him."

"Oh." A moment of contemplative silence. "To steal your line about 'being untoward', is there any chance he'd still be willing to go with you?"

Highly unlikely, as Crescent had been pushed away by Crystal and Jaune (for whatever reason he'd asked her out last year) seemed to have moved on from her and was going with Pyrrha. She doubted that Pyrrha would be okay with her stealing him away for even one dance. "I think he has... moved on."

Olive's face showed some level of doubt. "From a girl as pretty as you? I doubt it. Somebody like you leaves an impression on people. Does this mystery guy actually have a new girlfriend, or are you just guessing here?"

She put careful thought into how to answer that question truthfully. "There seem to be some girls interested in him, and he is going with one of them as a friend; but, from what I've gathered, he isn't romantically into any of them at the moment."

"Then you're all good, aren't you? I mean, I don't know what you did to push him away; but as long as you didn't do anything too dreadful, you could at least ask him for a dance while you two are there. The worst he can say is no."

Was it that simple? Not really, no, but she couldn't exactly explain that to Olive. "I'll think about it."

"Ha!" Olive let out something between a laugh and a snort, slightly surprising Weiss a bit. "Weiss, take it from a fifteen-year-old: there are some things in life that you should 'think about', like the Jaune plan with Yang, and there are some things in life that you just _do_. Trust me on this one."

The corner of her lips curled up a bit. "Oh? And a self-admitted fifteen-year-old can give an older girl relationship advice?"

Olive beat her chest proudly. "Weiss, I've had two good parents and three older siblings to learn from; I know what I know through watching them. Even Cactus- excuse me, Apricot gave me a few do's and don'ts in the way of life lessons I've seen her go through. Just have faith in yourself; you've got this. Him. Whatever!"

For a moment, Weiss could only stare at her and admire her strange confidence. To think that Jaune's little sister would be so earnest in trying to give her advice. Then again, that was just the Arc way, wasn't it? "Can I trade my little brother for you? Whitley could benefit from being around this family."

"My rates start around a thousand lien a week: five hundred for me living with you, and five hundred for my family teaching this brother of yours some manners." Olive hopped up as she openly laughed, which Weiss joined in with by chuckling. "Come to the kitchen with me. It's my turn to cook, so I want your opinion on which frozen pizzas to bake."

"Sounds positively healthy." She followed as instructed while giving her junior's words some thought. The Musical Jaune plan was well-intentioned, and she truly did want to help. For the meantime, maybe she should call Klein and have him bring some more clothes, particularly a dress that she had in mind for the dance. Olive had suggested that she do what she wanted to.

...The worst he could say is no, right?

- **Jaune** -

Jaune was in a good mood. He was in a _really_ good mood.

Crystal had messaged him yesterday, apologising for leaving him by himself and assuring him that she was, if not happy, at least unhurt. It was a weight lifted right off of his shoulders, and he'd been more than happy to say that she was forgiven and that she was still his friend. He refrained from telling his sisters this, though only because he didn't want to spark another argument; but if they themselves brought it up, at least he would have something to show them.

As he drove home from work (a good night indeed at seventy five Lien), he had the radio cranked up loud and was singing along for the first time since the failed date.

 _So come on, get higher/ loosen my lips_

 _Faith and desire/ and the swing of your hips_

 _Just pull me down hard, and drown me in love~_

Hey, don't judge; he can't control what songs are played over the radio. This continued all the way home, with him only drawing the line at singing "Heaven is a place on Remnant." Whistling "Sexy back" as he walked in the door, he was greeted by the sight of his sisters, Mother, and Weiss seated around the living room table. There was a deck of playing cards on the table, and a quick scan revealed that they were playing Vacuo Hold'em.

Jade, Mom, and Weiss were the only ones actually playing while Sapphire was the dealer, so he walked around to get a look at Weiss's hand. She had a Jack and a Queen off-suit, while the three revealed cards were eight, ten, and three.

Jade said "Check" while Juniper tapped the table to indicate the same. Weiss started to reach for her chips, but Jaune gave her a light tap on the shoulder. When she glanced back at him, his only response was to shake his head a hair. Weiss seemed to get the message. "Check."

Sapphire flipped the next card: a nine. All three players maintained perfect poker faces, but Jaune could almost feel Weiss radiate glee. Jade checked. Juniper thought for a moment, and then slid in fifty Lien worth of chips. Weiss matched it, while Jade quietly passed her cards to Sapphire.

The final flip: another eight. Juniper took only a second to slide in two hundred. Weiss seemed to hesitate, so Jaune leaned down and whispered, "Raise. Trust me."

She looked between her cards and the chips in the center of the table. Nodding to herself, and by extension him, she raised the bet by an additional two hundred that Juniper matched. The hands were revealed: Juniper had a straight Six through Ten, losing to Weiss's Eight through Queen.

Juniper sighed a little bit. "It isn't fair to coach, Son."

"If you were playing with real money I wouldn't have, but all's fair when there's no buy-in. I just know how you play." He lowered a hand down to Weiss's level, and she shook it as she accepted her winnings with her free hand. "So what did everybody eat?"

"It's Thursday," remarked Olive snidely. "What do you think?"

"Pizza, then. Any left?"

"Just a slice of pepperoni and a slice of the not-twins supreme."

"Time to pick off some olives, I guess." He spent the next ten minutes coaching Weiss through four hands as he ate, and she quickly found almost the entire collection of chips on her side of the table. Once Jade had enough of his unwanted assistance and booted him from the table, he went upstairs to his room and closed the door behind him.

He'd barely set his stuff down and pulled out his guitar when there was a knock on said door. "Come in."

He expected it to be one of his sisters, so he was surprised to see Weiss open the door. "Hey there. What's up?"

"I believe the proper response is 'the ceiling.'"

He rolled his eyes. "Nope, deeefinitely never heard that one before."

Weiss smiled in response as she pulled out his desk chair, turning it to face his bed so that she could sit facing him. "Yes, I suppose you must have since you have seven sisters. What's a fresh joke to other people is probably moldy bread to your family."

"Exactly." They shared a chuckle. He had to admit that he was greatly enjoying Weiss's presence in the Arc house, especially since she was a lot snarkier than he'd expected her to be. Still, she had come to his room for a reason. "What's really on your mind, Weiss?"

She hesitated for a moment, but collected herself and said, "If you're willing to listen, I wanted to share what led to me walking in the storm by myself. I'm not looking for pity, just... to get it off of my chest."

He was surprised once again, and set his guitar to the side to give her his full attention. "I'm all ears. Take your time."

Weiss then told him what she called the slimmed down version of the events: her father told her to come to a meeting with the White Fang, leading her to believe that she was going to be acting as the future head of the SEC. Instead, it was revealed that she'd actually had her title of heiress stripped from her, and that her father had expected her to play along with acting as an ambassador of sorts with Menagerie. Her brother Whitley then delivered the final emotional blow, sending her into a tailspin the resulted in her stormy exercise.

He listened without speaking a word, willing to hear everything she needed to get off of her chest before he asked any questions. Once she was finished, he had to take a deep breath just to keep calm. "Weiss, would it be okay if I punched your dad?"

She offere him a sad smile. "I want to say yes, but he has the world's best lawyers and thus would take your family for everything he could. I appreciate the sentiment, regardless."

Jaune had to steady his hands by gripping his sheets. How could a father deliberately hurt his own daughter like that? It was completely unconscionable. To take his mind off of his building anger, he thought to one of the better people in her story. "So Blake's dad was there. Is that related to why Blake pulled you aside earlier?"

"Indeed. Mr. Belladonna didn't tell her everything, though; just that she should support me in any way that she could. I really do appreciate Blake checking on my well-being." She emitted a short laugh. "It reminded me of your family, putting others at the front of your minds."

"Sounds like Blake's family would get along just fine with mine." Jaune felt grateful that there were people outside of the Arcs and Klein that were looking out for her. "Thank you for telling me, Weiss. If there's anything we can do, just let us know and we'll hop on it."

"I know you will, Jaune. Thank you." Her thanks were heartfelt and her smile honest, giving Jaune just a little

more fuel to do as he promised should she ever need it. Weiss glabced at the guitar he set aside. "Were you about to play a little?"

"Yeah. Do you wanna listen?"

Her smile widened. "I'd love to."

Jaune proceeded to play and sing a few songs for her. Nothing as complicated or showy as his earlier performance, mind you; just some soothing melodies that wouldn't be missing on a CD of ballads from varied artists. Throughout the private show Weiss had a somewhat serene expression, one that recognized as being similar to Yang's when she listened to him. It always warmed his heart that he could have that effect on people.

Once the third song finished, Jaune almost began a fourth when he was struck with the feeling that he'd forgotten something. But what was it? _'I don't have any written homework, nor any tests tomorrow to study for... Did it have to do with my family? Or friends and ooooh CRAP I forgot to text Pyrrha!_

He set his guitar down and grabbed his phone. "Sorry, I'll play another song in a second. I just forgot to message Pyrrha like I promised to."

 _Jaune: Hey, Pyrrha, sorry for the late text. How's your night going?_

He gave a sigh of relief at not having forgotten to text her completely. When he picked up his guitar again, he saw that Weiss had a rather indecipherable look on her face. "Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "No, I was just reminded of a question that I wanted to ask you. If you don't mind, that is."

"More power to you. What's your question?"

 _Bzzt Bzzt_. He glanced at the received message while Weiss composed her thoughts.

 _Pyrrha: It's okay, we all get tied up and busy. My night is going well, and I must say that I'm excited for Saturday._

Weiss then asked her question. "Last year, you were so persistent about getting my attention. Was there a particular reason for that?"

Jaune responded to Weiss even as he texted Pyrrha back. It was rude, he knew, but he didn't want to leave either hanging. "Oh, back then? I mean, there was a reason, but... You're gonna think I was silly."

 _Jaune: I'm glad you're excited! We're gonna have a lot of fun at the dance this year._

"I promise you that I won't, Jaune." She paused. "Unless you say something like you were trying to make another girl jealous. Because _that_ would be rude."

"Oh Gods, no. My parents raised me better than that, thank you very much." He rubbed the back of his head nervously, his old habit resurfacing thanks to the awkwardness of his reason. "The reason I was so persistent was... Well, at first I tried flirting with you because you were pretty. Not really love at first sight, more just 'wow, look at this great girl that I wanna get to know.' But near the end of freshman year, I kind of stumbled on you practicing your singing."

"Practicing?" Weiss leaned back as she absorbed that little tidbit. "In Ms. Fall's Chorus room?"

He nodded. "Yeah. You were completely alone, and singing a song that I hadn't heard before, nor since. This is gonna sound corny, but your singing was just breathtaking. I wound up just listening to you practice through the doors. But what I really noticed, even more than how great your voice is, was..."

Weiss leaned closer. "Was...?"

"...How lonely you sounded." Weiss seemed to blink a few times, not responding at all verbally, so he decided to elaborate as best he could. "Whatever song that was, you were putting your very soul into it. It hit me in my core that that was the real you; that was the Weiss that people don't see from day to day. And that impression really stuck with me, even to this day."

"I know it's gonna sound weird, and maybe even a little creepy, but when I heard that soul-born song it made me want to do whatever I could to change it. Change the sound of your soul into something joyful, into something you could share with the masses instead of keeping it bottled behind closed doors."

The white-haired girl pulled back, still visibly processing what he said. He could only pray that she didn't walk out of his room creeped out by what he just said.

 _Bzzt Bzzt._ There were two messages. He must've missed the first one arriving.

 _Pyrrha: I agree. This will no doubt be a night to remember :)_

 _Pyrrha: I apologize if this sounds invasive, but did you drive Weiss home this afternoon?_

"It's not creepy."

"Huh?" His head snapped up from his phone to see Weiss having relaxed a bit and smiling at him.

"I said the reason wasn't, or isn't, creepy. It was genuine and true to how you see other people, Jaune. Unorthodox, but that might just be fine anyways for us music-centered people."

Jaune let go of a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "I'm so glad you don't hate me for that."

"Never. If I may offer some advice, however: if you ask a girl out and she says no, maybe don't go for fourth and fifth times."

"Yeah, I learned that the hard way." He grinned as he pulled his guitar back into position. "One more song?"

"Absolutely." She smiled once more. "And maybe, if you let me know ahead of any performance, I might be able to join you. Maybe we could do a duet for Ms. Fall's class?"

"So you're still in Chorus? We'll see, I guess." He rolled his shoulders and started to strum. They both relaxed into the music for just a few more minutes, ignoring anything else.

 _Bzzt Bzzt._

 _Pyrrha: I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked._

X

 **To anyone concerned about Yang's lack of presence in the last few chapters, don't worry: the blonde brawler gets the front and center treatment next chapter.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it! Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** **One day later!? Egads!**

 **Enjoy.**

X

- **Yang** -

An image flashed through her mind, and not for the first time that evening. It was a picture of Jaune and Weiss walking next to each other, chatting away as they walked to his truck. A screenshot of Jaune making a little joke that Weiss rolled her eyes at before calling him a dolt. A capture of the moment that Weiss glanced around to ensure they weren't being watched before rising on her tiptoes and bringing Jaune's head down to her level so she could steal-

" _Yang!_ "

The voice, her mother's voice, was sharp enough to snap her out of her daydream. She looked across the dinner table and sheepishly said, "Sorry, Mom; I didn't hear whatever you said to me. What's up?"

Rather than being angry, Summer seemed to be more concerned than anything else. Why was her mom looking at her so warily? "'What's up,' Yang, is that you've completely crushed your cup."

Yang looked down at her right hand. Before she had slipped into her delusions- _because it wasn't real_ , she told herself - she'd been taking a drink from her plastic cup filled with water. As advertised it was completely worthless now, the center of the cup collapsed within itself from the sheer force her grip had exerted on it. Slowly, and shaking a little bit, she extracted her fingers from the remains and addressed her family. "Sorry, guys. I-I didn't mean to do that. At least it wasn't a glass cup, right?"

"Sis..." Ruby's voice was no less concerned than their mother's. "What's wrong? You've been acting strange all afternoon."

"Rubes, I'm fine, just a little distracted." It was plain to see that nobody was fooled, so she enacted plan B: tactical retreat. She collected her plate and utensils and stood up. "Thanks for dinner, Dad, but the noodles were a little overcooked this time."

Gasp. "You take that back, young lady."

"You can't hide from the truth, old man." Forcing a giggle at his expense, she slipped into the kitchen to rinse her plate off. Success! Now she just needed to put all of this in the dishwasher and disappear to-

Summer popped up beside her like a ghost, rinsing her own plate off before turning to face her. Damn. "Honey, what's bothering you? Ruby's right, you haven't been 'you' since you came back from school."

She truly didn't want to be having this conversation, so she walked away as she answered, "Mom, I'm fine, really."

"Are you fine, or are you f.i.n.e.?"

Yang stopped, more than a little confused. Looking back at her mother she asked, "What the heck does that mean?"

Summer held up four fingers and ticked them off for each letter. " **F** reaked out. **I** nsecure. **N** eurotic. **E** motional. It's a saying that Nicholas Arc used to share back in the day. I guess it's more accurate than I gave him credit for."

Naturally, the name rang a bell. "You knew Jaune's dad?"

"Indeed, although I didn't recognize Jaune's name at first because I only knew him as Nick." Summer reached forward and gently grabbed Yang's shoulder. "Is Jaune part of what's bothering you? Is he okay?"

"He's fine, Mom; as in he's actually okay. I just-" She stopped and sighed. "Can we not talk about this on the stairs?"

"Of course. Do you want to talk in your room instead?" Yang answered by walking once more, her mother following right on her heel. When they entered her room, Yang made sure to lock the door behind them to prevent any intrusions. Summer sat down on bed and pat the space next to her, a clear invitation to sit. She obeyed, and once she did Summer took the reins. "If Jaune really is okay, honey, then why are you so upset?"

How could she answer that when she herself couldn't wrap her head around everything? When her mind kept feeding her falsified images of things that she couldn't help but hate? For lack of any better idea, she started from the beginning. "Do you remember when I asked you for help with Jaune?"

"I do. You said Jaune was headed to a blind date with someone you personally knew and you were afraid of how things would turn out."

"Yeah, well, it definitely went to the bad side. The girl was a no-show, which was why I took Jaune out the next day to cheer him up. On Monday I confronted her and found out that she didn't have a reason for ditching besides being a coward, so I decided that I was going to be Jaune's new best friend no matter what. I got Jaune a date to the dance and everything seemed to be going alright-"

"Rewind just a moment," interrupted Summer. "What do you mean 'you got Jaune a date to the dance?' You mean you asked him to go with you, right?"

She shook her head. "There's another girl in school named Pyrrha. I think that she's childhood friends with him or something like that. Anyways, I convinced Pyrrha to ask him out because she's liked him for a long time, in a 'everyone knows about it except Jaune himself' way. She didn't _confess_ to Jaune, but she did ask him to the dance."

Summer furrowed her brow. "Why would you do... No, nevermind. Please continue with your story."

Yang mentally questioned what her mother was trying to get at, but obliged and continued to explain. "Well, this morning she and Jaune came to school together in his truck, chatting and having fun with each other; and in the afternoon, after Jaune put on an amazing show for the band, he drove her home. I've been... out of sorts since then."

"I see." Her mother took a moment to properly phrase the questions she wanted to ask. "The first thing I have to ask is: why does this girl connecting, or rather reconnecting, with Jaune make you upset?"

"Because it isn't right!" Yang got too intense and accidentally yelled the last word, making herself flush at ruining the whole point of their privacy before continuing. "Because what she's doing isn't right. You can't just destroy someone else's feelings and then waltz back in to pick them up. In what world is that okay?"

"Consider this," replied Summer diplomatically. "In society, people make mistakes all the time; some worse than others, of course. What, precisely, is wrong with somebody trying to make amends for what they've done? After all, you don't know what might have happened between Monday and today."

Logically speaking, the immediate answer was "It's not wrong," but Yang didn't feel like admitting that right at that moment. Instead, she opted to switch tracks. "Still, it's clear that she's trying to get closer to Jaune, but that spot belongs to Pyrrha now."

"Which brings me to my other point, Yang. Why would you intentionally set Jaune up with another woman when clearly you care for him so much yourself?"

Yang's mental gears stopped for a second. "Wha- Jaune's my friend, okay? What's wrong with trying to make him happy?"

"Not a single thing, but you're dodging the real question." Summer didn't raise her voice, simply laying things out as she saw them. "I'll approach this from a different direction. You say Jaune is your friend. Okay; what parts about him do you like?"

The gears started turning again; she could answer this easily, after all. "He and I share a wonderful sense of humor, though I'm naturally better at puns. His music is out-of-this-world, bringing me back to his house every week for the next set. I get along great with his sisters, particularly Lavender. She kinda reminds me of Ruby, you know?"

"I can imagine."

Yang wasn't done building momentum. "He's dedicated to his family, working to pay bills instead of being selfish; you don't see a lot of that in teenagers these days. And when he talks to me he isn't staring at my 'girls'; instead, he's looking me straight in the eyes and seeing me for me instead of seeing me for my body. Don't get me wrong, I know I look great; I work hard at it. But Jaune doesn't make me feel like a slab of meat about to be devoured."

"Uh-huh. And how do you feel when he compliments you?"

She chuckled a bit. "That's a weird question; but, if I had to answer, it honestly makes me happy when he does. I get a little- what's the word I'm looking for? Flutter? I feel a flutter in my stomach and kinda want him to say it again. And...and..."

In the back of her mind, a cog that had been mysteriously missing reappeared and clicked into place, helping to bring every piece of machinery in her head into the same pace. Her brain ran through every one of her descriptions, cross-referencing it with every relationship she'd ever seen in person and in the movies.

No. No, no, no, that wasn't right. He belongs to Pyrrha, she deserves him. She's pined for him for gods know how long.

The fake image of Weiss tiptoeing up to Jaune appeared again. Taunting her. _Who are you really angry for? Pyrrha, or yourself?_

Yang brought her knees onto the bed and buried her face into them. It was wrong! It had to be wrong, because she was doing the right thing for the right reason!

The image shifted. Instead of Weiss it was Yang herself in the shot, pulling at Jaune's hoodie with just enough force to drag him closer. Jaune laughed and began to hold her tightly against him.

"...No...!" It was a breathless syllable, but she couldn't help but release it as tears began to form around her eyes. She didn't want to see anymore of it, snd she struggled to vanquish the thought of Jaune's parting lips inviting her in-

 _Right_.

It was a single word. A description of the new picture that she'd been deathly afraid of attributing to it, but couldn't shake once it was planted. It felt _right_ to imagine herself with Jaune, and the fact that it felt right was _wrong_ because she knew what it would lead to.

In fiction you can make whatever scenario you want to happen, happen. Power fantasy of killing all the monsters? Done. Two girls able to share a guy and everyone be okay with it? No problem! But this was reality. Not only would today's society frown upon a polygamous relationship, human emotions are brittle things. Even with established guidelines, people get jealous of one another and want more of what makes them happy.

She and Pyrrha both liked the same guy; and at the end of the day, only two people could be together while the third wheel falls to the wayside. And if you included Weiss in the equation, there would, in fact, be two girls left in the dust. She had been so desperate to deny her feelings because if she never acknowledged them, she'd never have to register the pangs of loss when Pyrrha and Jaune became happy together.

But it was too late now. The truth had been laid bare before her, and now she could only begin to cry as her feelings threatened to crush her. Summer put her arm around her and brought her into a one-sided hug in an attempt to soothe her. "Yang... Yang, it's okay..."

"No it's not..." - _sob-_ "I-I-I don't want to lose him. Not to Weiss...Not to the girl who's loved him longer than anybody! And that's wrong!"

"Honey..."

They wound up staying just like that for several minutes, with Summer whispering softly to her as she tried to come to grips with herself. She didn't shout and her sobs were quiet, but every breath was a labor to get in and out.

Yang Xiao Long was a notorious tease. She always knew which parts of her the guys liked, and she enjoyed turning their heads while simultaneously keeping them at arms length; look, but don't touch. On the occasions where she would go clubbing, against her family's wishes most times, she would tear up the dance floor like everyone else. But those guys were never allowed to lay hands on her. Those were her rules.

But the party girls are supposed to lose to the girl next door, right? That's why Pyrrha was better for him. She would support Jaune in everything that he strived for, and he would do the same in return. Yang was supposed to be stay to the side, maybe become a beta couple with some unknown dude; not take Pyrrha's place for her own.

When she was finally able to breathe without struggle, Summer got off the bed and kneeled down in front of her; the end result being that her mother was looking up to see her eyes. "Yang, what do you want to do?"

She wanted to find Jaune right that second and sort through her feelings together with him; but that wasn't an option, was it? "...I don't know, Mom. What did you do about Dad?"

Summer blew out a long breath of air. "You don't wanna do what I did... Have we ever talked much about Raven?"

She wiped some of her tears off on her sleeve. "Not really. Whenever I asked about her, you and Dad would almost always change topics."

"I guess we did." Summer reclaimed her previous spot on the bed. "Your mother was the definition of headstrong; when she wanted something, she worked herself to the bone to get it. One day, that 'thing' was Tai. I'd already been developing feelings for him, but when Raven swooped in and claimed him I decided to sit back and let them be happy."

"Unfortunately, you know what happened next. She left Tai with you and I had to spend the next few years putting his heart back together. I love you as my own daughter, Yang, but I still sometimes wonder what would've happened if I put my foot down before." She took a deep breath. "Just like I told you last time, there is no right answer. One way or another somebody is going to get hurt, and if you aren't careful that person will be Jaune himself. The only real advice I can give is about this mystery girl- what's her name, anyways?"

"...It's Weiss."

"Weiss. If she wants to make amends with Jaune and fix her mistake, that isn't a bad thing at all; but, on the other hand, I would hate to see you sacrifice your own happiness for someone else's, because there are no guarantees that anything will work out in this world. All you can do is put your faith in the person you love and follow your heart."

Faith, huh? Such a simple, yet difficult word. Finally letting go of her own knees, she leaned forward and gave her mother a hug. "Thanks, Mom. I feel a little better now."

"I'm glad. If there's anything else you ever need to talk about, I'm here for you, Honey. Always."

"I know you are." The embrace lasted a few more moments before Summer let herself out of the room, leaving Yang to her thoughts.

To Yang's mind, there were two paths in front of her and both of them were covered in fog. On the left was doing what Raven did and going for what she wants full throttle. On the right was what Summer did, falling back and praying for the best. There was also the unknown path between them; but rather than it being misty, it was completely black and unknown. No road to follow for guidance.

So which path should she take?

- **Friday** -

Yang left early that day as well, but unlike before she had a plan. Some things needed to be said, and they would be said without fail.

The parking lot was near empty upon her arrival, so she decided to stand by the doors and wait for her target. A good ten minutes passed, and the cold air was starting to get to her when the green truck she was looking for pulled up. As expected, Jaune and Weiss both stepped out of it and came towards her, so she stepped away from the wall and offered them a wave. "Hey, Music Man. Do you mind if I borrow Weiss for a bit? It's kind of important."

Jaune looked back and forth between them as Weiss came to a stop. "Is everything okay?"

To her mild surprise, Weiss answered for her. "It is indeed important, Jaune, but nothing terrible. I'll see you at lunch."

"Secret meeting, got it. I'll see you both later." With a wave of his own he went in, leaving both of the girls to their discussion. Yang couldn't help but note that while she still disliked Weiss's behavior, she didn't hate the girl herself anymore. Curious.

But that was neither here nor there, and when they were definitively alone Yang simply asked, "Does he know?"

They both knew that she didn't needed to clarify herself. "Not yet."

"So you plan on telling him yourself?"

"Yes." Weiss wasn't averting her eyes. That was a good thing; it showed the honesty in her answer.

Yang let the atmosphere soak into herself before she spoke. "I don't know what you were thinking when you did what you did, and right now I don't care. What matters is the future, and I want to make it clear that I'm pushing for Pyrrha to have Jaune to herself."

That seemed to catch her by surprise. "Pyrrha? Not yourself?"

"Right now, no. I'm the one that pushed Pyrrha into asking him out, and I intend to stand by that call. If they stick together, great. If they don't, then we'll see what I decide then. I just wanted to let you know where I stand."

Weiss crossed her arms as she thought about her words, and then gave two subtle nods. "You're striving for Jaune's happiness before your own; I can respect that. But do understand that if Jaune is willing to forgive my transgressions, I fully intend to be by his side from here on out; even if you hate me for it. It's the right thing to do."

She nodded in return. "You aren't wrong. Well then, since we're in agreement _Weiss_ -Queen, how about we get to class?"

"Wait just a moment." Weiss's words stopped her from turning around. She motioned for the Schnee to continue. "Speaking of Jaune's happiness, his sister Olive has come up with a plan for you and I to push him into pursuing a career in Music. Are you willing to cooperate with me on that?"

It was an interesting concept, even if she didn't know all of the details yet. Jaune loved music like nothing else, but he was living for his family in the role of big brother and family provider. Perhaps Olive had come up with a workaround. "I'll think about it, Weiss."

X

 **Thank you all for dealing with my strange writing speeds. Hopefully, Muse will turn its efforts to Charismatic Gamer for a chapter or two.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it! Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** **It's time for another non-main character perspective. Give a round of applause for everyone's favorite drunken Huntsm- I mean, detective, Qrow!**

 **Enjoy!**

X

- **Qrow** , **Friday** -

Qrow felt a little nostalgia as he wandered through the halls of Beacon towards the headmaster's office. Dressed in an untucked grey button-down with black jeans, he received more than a fair share of curious looks from students wandering the halls; but he ignored them all thanks to A) having anticipated it and B) honestly not giving a damn. Unless they were his niece or the boy he was there to discuss, their opinion was irrelevant.

He made it to his destination after a few minutes, knocking on the closed door and waiting for a response. After a few seconds he heard "Come in," so he did just that and greeted the room's owner. "Hey, Oz. How's it going?"

"I should be asking that of you, Qrow." Ozpin was long used to his mannerisms by now, and so wasn't perturbed by his sloppy appearance. "Shouldn't you be down at the precinct instead of here talking to me?"

"Got hit by a bullet in the chest yesterday, the captain gave me the weekend off. 'Bullet-proof' is a very exaggerated term for those vests."

"So you've noted before. That still doesn't explain why you called me not thirty minutes earlier just to see if I was available." The headmaster stopped to take a sip of his coffee. Coffee was to Ozpin what whiskey was to Qrow; maybe that's why they'd always gotten along. "What's on your mind, old friend?"

Qrow unceremoniously plopped himself into the guest chair. "I met Nick's kid the other day."

Ozpin slowly put his mug down. "I see. Nothing was wrong, I hope."

"Women problems, apparently, but nothing I'd need to take him to the precinct for." He chuckled at his own joke. "According to a certain rose, my niece is pretty attached to him. I wanted to see what you thought of the kid since you see him here all the time."

"Unfortunately, I see Mr. Arc a fair bit less than I'd like." He paused. "While his grades are average, in the last two years Jaune has earned quite the reputation for his musical talents."

"No shit? Takes me back our own school days, Oz. Remember when you got the nickname 'The Wizard?'"

"I always did have a flair for stage dramatics." Ozpin's lips curled into the lightest of smiles before fading away. "I see so much of Nicholas in Jaune that it's a little frightening. Reports indicate that he loves music even more than his father did, but he's making the same decisions as well; the decision to work a relatively stable job for the family instead of pursuing his passion."

Palm met face as Qrow gave a heavy sigh. "If the kid says that he's gonna become a cop, I'll shoot him myself to make sure it doesn't happen."

"Qrow, you know as well as I do that Nicholas would've acted the same way even without his training as an officer. He saw lives that needed to be saved, and acted thusly."

"Fat lot of good that did for his own family." He took a swig from his flask. "I still hate the council, Oz. Every time they have something come up that I need to investigate, I wanna string them up and order them to give Nick's family what they deserve instead. 'Unnecessary Intervention' my ass."

"All we can do is move forward, Qrow. Encourage the next generation to do things better than we did."

"I know, I know. You sound like old man Claus." He scratched his stubble in thought. "How good is the kid, anyways? With music, I mean."

"Allow me to put it this way." Ozpin smiled again, and this time allowed it to stay there. "Jaune was a part of both Chorus and Band for a week until he discovered that the mutually exclusive schedules meant he could only fully dedicate himself to one. Amber Autumn and Cinder Fall, the Band and Chorus directors respectively, fought tooth and nail to win him over to their side. Cinder still holds a grudge against Amber for losing that particular debate."

"Damn! He really is just like Nick if women are fighting over him." They shared a laugh at this, both recalling the fervor of Nick's fans back in the day. Once they settled down, Qrow sighed once more. "We messed up. Oz. I wasn't even at the funeral because I decided to get blackout drunk after losing my friend, and I haven't done a damn thing since to help them out."

"I'm not much better. I tried to gift Juniper some money to help pay for whatever expenses they had, but after she declined I failed to offer any other support." Ozpin was about to take another drink when he realized that his coffee had gone cold. Wearily, he pushed it aside and made a note to get more. "You said that your niece is close to him right now, correct?"

"Yang is, yeah. Why?"

"It goes without saying, but if she discovers that there is something I can do, please don't hesitate to tell me."

"Will do, Oz. I'll check in with her every now and then to see if there are any changes. Well, I guess I'll see you later." Pushing himself to his feet, he began slowly ambling to the door.

"Qrow, wait." He paused and waited for Ozpin to continue. "I noticed the flask you drank from. You didn't actually drive here under the influence, did you?"

"Of course not; it's water. I've seen way too much to be driving drunk." He stumbled even as he laughed some more. "And anyways, like I said, I got shot. Do you know how much my ribs hurt right now?"

- **Jaune** , **Thursday night** -

Let it be known that while Jaune had yet to have a girlfriend in his life, he now had an idea of what it felt like when you goofed with one.

After Weiss left his room, he checked his phone and felt his blood chill at Pyrrha's question and subsequent dismissal of it. He quickly realized that she must've thought he didn't want to answer the question, and as soon as he processed that he dialed her number and prayed that she'd pick up.

 _Riiiiiing. Riiiiiing. Riiiiiing._

 _"I'm sorry to say you've reached my voicemail_. _I'm either at practice or otherwise unavailable, so please leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can."_

He couldn't tell if she was actually busy or just avoiding answering, but a part of him was betting that it was the latter. Rather than leave a voice message, he cut the call and nailed out a text message; if she was mad at him, she'd be more likely to read a message than to listen to one.

 _Jaune: I'm sorry! Please don't think I was being silent on purpose or anything like that. To answer your question: yes, Weiss and I are riding to school together._

The wait for a response was only a few minutes, but it felt a bit like eternity.

 _Bzzt Bzzt._

 _Pyrrha: I understand, and it's okay. With a family as large as yours, I'm sure you must be busy. Why are you and Weiss riding together?_

"Because her dad's an asshole." Not that he could say that without giving out way more personal information than he should share without Weiss's permission. He couldn't lie about the situation, though, lest he screw himself over with trying to explain it away.

 _Jaune: She had a bit of trouble and I happened to help her out on Wednesday. She's staying with my family for a bit._

 _Pyrrha: I'm sorry to hear that! I hope everything is okay._

Jaune smiled to himself and was about to respond when he received another text from her.

 _Pyrrha: If I may ask, how long is she going to be a guest?_

Suddenly, memories of dealing with his seven sisters flooded through Jaune's mind all at once. Recollections of Apricot and Vermilion asking their boyfriends or would-be suitors leading questions to trap them and have them reveal truths they'd tried to bury. Jaune didn't have anything to hide in this scenario...

...but even he knew a dangerous question when he saw one. How was he supposed to answer this one?

 _'Oum grant me wisdom.'_ Hesitantly, he replied.

 _Jaune: We don't know for sure yet. It all depends on what Weiss feels she needs to do._

A minute passed.

And then five. A sense of dread was beginning to build, and while the source of it was easy to locate, he wasn't quite sure _why._

 _Bzzt Bzzt._

 _Pyrrha: Well, I certainly wish her the best._

 _You know, I don't think I've met any of your sisters besides Apricot and Vermilion. Do you think it would be okay for me to come meet your family tomorrow afternoon? I don't have practice and you mentioned having some free time between school and work._ _It seems like a wonderful opportunity, especially right before the dance._

With a sigh, he realized that he was a mouse that had just been backed into a corner by a cat. Why the cat was chasing the mouse remained to be seen, but his choices basically boiled down to say yes and hope that the cat doesn't try to eat him, or say no and hope the cat doesn't maul him in anger.

He decided that he'd rather not make Pyrrha angry, no matter what reason she had for this.

 _Jaune: That sounds like a good idea to me. Since you drive, do you want to just follow me home after school?_

 _Pyrrha: Sounds perfect :) I'll see you at lunch tomorrow._

Tossing his phone on the bed, Jaune decided to finish out the night with some studying since he'd already gotten his music kick for the day. He only hoped that this bizarre feeling of fear was for nothing.

- **Friday** -

Before heading off to school, he made sure to give his family (plus Weiss) a heads up that Pyrrha would be over that afternoon. He received a number of comments (that he ignored) suggesting that he was "bringing his girlfriend home to meet the family," but the girls otherwise agreed to act like they would around any guest. He also told Weiss exactly what he told Pyrrha regarding her situation. Thankfully, she wasn't upset in the slightest, and actually agreed with it saying that they should avoid any misconceptions about what was going on surrounding her stay.

After he left Weiss and Yang to have their not-so-secret secret meeting, his morning classes seemed to fly by. Maybe it was the energy in the air as people got hyped for the dance, but he felt a bounce in his own steps and even managed to happily focus in his classes. It was a shame that Port's class was in the evening for him, since he'd still probably fall asleep there. He supposed that nothing could be perfect.

Lunch was when things got weird.

It started off normally enough. The crew of eight sat where they had the day before. When he went to go take the first bites of his food, however, he felt something weighing on his left side. A glance revealed that Pyrrha had scooched closer to him and was leaning her shoulder against his. She'd been acting a little friendlier all week, but this seemed to be the next step on the scale.

Pyrrha caught him looking at her and smiled as she looked back. "Is something the matter, Jaune?"

"Uh, no, I guess not." Deciding to just deal with it, he took his bite as Yang started to talk.

"So, Ladies and gents, how are we doing the rides to the dance? I only have Bumblebee, so I don't think that'll work out well for my dress."

Ren raised his hand to answer. "I drive a seven-seat van, so theoretically I could pick everyone up comfortably."

"That sounds nice," the blonde responded with a coy looking smile, "but what if somebody decides to leave early? We should at least have a second vehicle ready to go at the prom instead of having to arrange for other people to pick us up."

Jaune finished chewing and spoke up. "My truck fits two comfortably, with another two able to sit in the small pull-down seats behind me."

From his left came Pyrrha's voice. "Since you and I are going together, will Weiss be in one of the small seats?"

He looked across the table at Weiss, who nodded in response to Pyrrha's question. "I hope that you don't mind me intruding on the ride."

The redhead shook her head and flashed that ever-brilliant smile. "Not at all, Weiss. We're all going to have a swell time together."

 _'Why do I feel like I'm missing some context here?'_

Yang nodded sagely. "That about settles that, since Ruby's still the only hold out."

The accused just rolled her eyes. "Again, no reason to go."

"Not even if your favorite uncle said that you should?" The group turned to see that one Qrow Branwen had approached the table. "Hey, kids."

Ruby jumped up and dove at him for a hug; the height difference made it particularly comical. "Uncle Qrow! What brings you here?!"

"I was just here to talk to ol' Ozpin and see how my favorite nieces are doing." He rubbed her head before gently pushing her away and peering over at Jaune. "Nice to see you while I'm not hungover, kid. And wow, you really are just like your old man with that girl all over you."

Qrow mumbled the last part, which meant it went unheard by Jaune. "What was that?"

"Don't worry about it. So, why doesn't little Ruby want to go?"

"Number one, no dress; number two, no date; and C) no motivation. So, do you wanna come by and play video games, uncle Qrow?"

"I'll think about it. You kids be good now." With a short wave he turned and walked out of the cafeteria. Everybody returned to eating their food-

Except Nora, who spun towards Jaune with a glare that was almost accusatory. "Wait a minute, why does Weiss have to interrupt your alone time with Pyrrha?"

He wanted to sigh, but Weiss spoke up and said, "Don't worry, I'll explain it so that everyone understands. But I request that you all refrain from spreading it around campus."

She then told the table the same version of her story that she told him, though in a low voice to avoid telling the entire student body. The reactions were varied a little, but by-and-large everyone offered her their support should she need it. When she looked at Jaune, he offered her a thumbs up for being brave enough to talk about it publically. Now if only there was some way he could help, that'd make him feel much better.

The rest of the school day passed at a slower pace than the first half, but before too long it was time for dismissal. He met up with Weiss and Pyrrha in the parking lot, giving the latter the directions to his house via text in case they got separated. Fortunately, he was able to spot Pyrrha's mustang behind him the entire ride to his house.

He pulled into the driveway while Pyrrha parked along the street, and together they walked to his front door. He put his keys into the front door...

...and prayed that his sisters would behave themselves.

X

 **Short one, I know, but I really, _really_ need to focus on Charismatic Gamer.**

 **I need (or at least, would like) your vote! Which POV should the "Pyrrha meets family" be written from? Pyrrha, Weiss, or Olive? Cast your vote in the reviews or in a PM.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Have a nice day/night!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: The people have spoken!** **Ladies and Gentlemen, Olive.**

X

- **Olive** -

"Olive Arc, I believe you know my rule against sleeping in class."

Without removing her face from her desk, she reached into her hoodie and extracted her braid, waving it around as if it were a hand. "I'm not sleeping, Professor Grape."

"Hm." The rather rotund man, very befitting of his name, sniffled as he wiped his hand across his handlebar moustache. How that man could believe that he looked good with it, she'd never understand. "And I suppose you've been paying attention to the entire class, young lady?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you're up to date on the readings?"

"Right again, sir."

"Then, please, tell the rest of the class what I was about to tell them."

She finally raised her head and stood up, making sure to project her voice just enough to reach everyone. "The Penny Fish, named after the daughter of the scientist who discovered them, can be found in the Polendinian Trench fifteen miles inland of Atla's eastern coast. During the winter months, they migrate from the trench to the ocean due to the cold weather; some say that the sight of their long and dedicated voyage is simply _sensational_. Will there be anything else, sir?"

Another sniffle. "That will be all."

She sat down and reapplied her forehead to the spot she'd been keeping warm, pleased that she was able to put the smarmy man in his place for the third time this semester. Thanks to having to repeat her seventh grade year, she'd decided to learn all of the eighth grade material in her free time. While her grades were now near-perfect, it came at the cost of an ever invasive boredom during her school day.

Sour Grape had started to babble again. Was that dismissal bell going to ring anytime soon?

 _Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!_

Oh! Well, that worked out perfectly. She grabbed her books and left for her locker, ignoring the glare that Grape gave her as she walked past his desk. Within a few minutes, she was equipped with her light backpack and on the school bus set to take her home. She was only alone there for a moment, as Jade quickly sat down next to her and Sapphire turned to face her from the seat in front. "You seem satisfied with yourself, Ollie."

"I'm happy any day that I'm able to put Sour Grape in his place, Saph. Good luck with him next year."

Jade rolled her eyes. "I wish you wouldn't antagonize him like you do. It's only gonna make our classes harder."

"When he started the school year by saying 'I heard about the little Arc with an attitude problem,' he brought it all onto himself." She slipped an X-Ray and Vav comic from her bag and opened it to the fifth page. "Besides, his class isn't even that hard. You two will be _juuust_ fine."

"Whatever you say, Olive." Sapphire turned to sit in her seat, but just as quickly spun back around. "By the way, are we actually having an Arc Council later?"

The Arc Council. A sacred meeting that is called to gather when serious, potentially life-altering issues arose. The name is a bit of a misnomer, however, and doesn't actually include all of the Arcs living in the house. Just the teen and pre-teen girls. "Indeed. We'll convene as soon as Lavender and Plum come home, and will probably have another after Jaune and Weiss leave for the dance tomorrow."

Jade put on a thoughtful expression. "A 'before and after' regarding this Pyrrha girl and Jaune?"

"Close, but not quite; it'll actually involve Pyrrha, Weiss, and Yang altogether... although I think we already know Lav's stance about this."

Sapphire did her best Lavender impression, putting both hands on her hips. "'Oh, just when will Yang and Jaune get together? I may only be ten, but I know true love when I see it!' I swear, I don't understand why Lav only acts like a good girl around Yang."

Olive could only shrug. "Who knows? Personally, all I want is for her to give Pyrrha a fair chance."

Jade tugged on her hood. "Speaking of Nikos, when are you gonna return Jaune's Pumpkin Pete hoodie to him?"

"Never! It's comfy." The fact that the Pyrrha that Jaune was going to the dance with was THE Pyrrha Nikos had blown all of the Arc girls minds, but with Weiss and Vermilion as her sources she had no reason to doubt that it was true. An All-Star athlete destined for the big leagues. She couldn't help but wonder if the cereal box did her looks any justice.

The bus ride to and from school was usually pretty short, and that day was no exception. When the trio made it home and made it inside, they got right to work preparing for the Council: Sapphire got some chips and dips ready in the living room, Jade got some fresh notebook paper and pens to take the minutes of the meeting, and Olive set up the "security" camera to watch for Jaune and Company's arrival. Security was in quotation marks because it was really only one of those toy video cameras for kids that wanted to play "Spy", but the range on it was decent enough that she could point the camera to the driveway from the room she shared with Sapphire and Jade.

When they came home, the camera warning would give them just enough time to scatter and pretend that they were playing a board game. The dummy game of the day was Battleship.

Just as she told the twins, when the not-twin's bus dropped them off the meeting began with all due haste. With gavel in hand, Jade intoned, "Arc Council Fifteen, Part A now in session."

 _Bang!_

Olive started talking first. "We need to come to an understanding in regards to Jaune and any potential girlfriends. First, are there any questions?"

Plum raised her hand. "Olive, what are your personal thoughts about Weiss? Do you think that she's going after Jaune, or is it looking to be a two-person struggle between Yang and this Pyrrha girl?"

She twisted her braid around her finger as she thought. "It's hard to say. Whenever I catch Weiss staring at him, she isn't giving him an 'I want you' look. It's more like... guilt? She feels bad about something, and I can't quite figure out what."

Another hand went up, this time belonging to Sapphire. "Here's a theory: what if it's regret instead of guilt? You know, 'I shot him down a year ago and now I wish I hadn't since I now know he's a good guy.' Not that you can blame her for the initial rejection given, you know, the song he sang."

Lavender scoffed. "Too late, she missed the date, now it's up to the hands of fate. Also, I want to bring up Yang's weekly visits to Pyrrha today."

Confused looks were shared, but the question was asked by the eldest member. "To what end?"

"To let her know that she missed her chance, too; a- _duh_."

Palms met foreheads all around the table; leave it to Lavender to be petty about things. Plum tended to agree with her on most matters, but this time even the older not-twin could only say, "Lav, that doesn't make any sense."

"Of course it does!" The only response they gave was pointed stares, so she deigned to elaborate. "Look, Weiss confirmed that this is the same Pyrrha Nikos that's been setting international records since she was fourteen, right? The go-getter to end all athletic go-getters, yes?"

"Yes, and?"

"And she's liked him for a couple years, with Vermilion confirming that she and Jaune knew each other as kids, yes?"

When the older four only stared at her blankly, clearly not seeing where she was going with this, she threw both of her hands into the air in exasperation. "Hello?! How can a girl known for being the _definition_ of competitive on the track be so... **slow** in asking a guy out for a date!? Either she isn't actually interested in him, or there's something wrong with her!"

Jade, the most logic driven of the collected five, performed her role of clearing any misunderstandings from the discussion. "Please tell me that you have more to your point than that. It could simply be that we don't have all of the information about their relationship."

"Alright, how about this: she said in some of those press interviews that she's going to make being an athlete her career. Therefore, she's gonna be a globetrotter, traveling all around the world and leaving Jaune by himself for long periods of time!"

Jade shook her head. "Flawed thinking. Yang told us that she wants to be a boxer; so not only would she be traveling constantly, she'd even be coming home bruised and beaten. Did you ever think about that?"

Silence was Lavender's answer, proving to everyone that Jade had hit the nail on the head. Temporarily defeated, the youngest Arc sat back down and angrily shoved some potato chips into her mouth. Olive sighed and said, "Look, I'll make you a deal. We won't go out of our way to bring it all up, but if Yang naturally comes into the conversation we won't try to hide it. Okay?"

"...Fine, whatever."

"Good." That was likely to be the best response they'd get, so Olive took it as-is and marched on. "Now, romantic feelings or not, do we all agree to treat Pyrrha just like we do Weiss and Yang? Friendly, honest about ourselves and all of that jazz?"

A round of nods. "Awesome, onto the last thing we'll have time for, then. This morning, I caught Jaune receiving a message from that Crystal girl and him smiling as he replied to it, so it's safe to assume that Mystery Girl finally got the guts to respond and apologize. The question is: do we try to discourage him meeting with her again, or let this topic go for now?"

"Screw 'er." Plum's answer was immediate and vehement. "You just don't do that to people. If it turns out she was in a _coma_ or something, fine, but otherwise she needed to get into contact with him _Saturday_ if she was gonna miss the date. Sunday at the latest if it was a family emergency."

Olive and Lavender nodded, though Sapphire visibly bit her lip in hesitation. Jade observed everyone the room and spoke accordingly. "It appears to be three-to-one in favor of discouragement. The motion passes."

 _Bang!_

Olive turned to look at the security camera. "They aren't here yet, but we're still pretty short on time. Let's call it here."

Another round of nods and the Council split apart in anticipation, with Olive herself going back upstairs to put away her little spy kit. Just as she removed the camera from the window, she saw Jaune's truck pull into the driveway and another, unidentified car park on the street.

Well, well, things worked out perfectly for her once more. Putting away the equipment, she returned to the living room and started up a round of Battleship with Sapphire as they waited for Jaune and company to walk in. They'd just set up their ships when the tell-tale sound of the door opening grabbed their attention. First was Jaune himself, the brother with whom she shared an uncomfortably close likeness. In the minds of most who knew her, she was visually Jaune if he had the three B's: braid and B-cups, that is.

Darn the Arc family genetics.

Next was Weiss, already looking comfortable with the home she was returning to. Her arrival and pseudo-adoption on Wednesday had been quite the surprise, no thanks to Jaune deliberately not giving them a heads-up, but all of the Arc children (even Lavender!) could admit that the Schnee girl had inserted herself quite comfortably into their lives. Olive particularly enjoyed finding a personality as snarky as herself in the older girl.

She hadn't been lying when she told the Council that she was unable to get a trace on Weiss's feelings towards Jaune; but, at least in her own mind, she could admit to enjoying the thought of Weiss as a possible sister-in-law. Trailing a few feet behind Weiss was the lady-of-the-day, however, so Olive took her eyes off of Weiss and examined the new arrival.

She determined quite quickly that the cereal box did not, in fact, have a _thing_ on the genuine article. With her slim-yet-fit body and shocking red hair in a ponytail, Pyrrha Nikos looked every bit the goddess of speed one commentator anointed her as. Jaune made the usual introductions, though only she and Sapphire were in the room right that moment, so Olive reached forward and shook her hand. "I'm glad to finally meet Jaune's childhood friend. I was never sure you really existed, even with big sis vouching for you."

Pyrrha gave a light chuckle. "I'm pleased to meet you as well. I often wish that I hadn't needed to move away all those years ago; but I'm here now, I suppose."

Olive made to respond, but Pyrrha continued speaking as her eyes traveled a little below her neck. "I must confess that I didn't expect to see that picture today."

Huh? She looked down in confusion only to realize that she was still wearing the Pumpkin Pete hoodie. Whoops. "Forgot I had this on; sorry-"

And then she had an idea, and couldn't fight the encroaching grin. "-although, this isn't even my hoodie. Did Jaune ever tell you about how he collected the fifty boxtops to send in?"

A twinkle of amusement entered Pyrrha's eyes as she sat down on the end of the opposite sofa. "No, I don't think that he has."

"Olive, please don't do this to me." She ignored his pleas; she was a shark, and there was blood in the water now.

"At first, it was just because we all liked the Pete mascot; it's a cute little bunny, after all. But then you got your face put on the box, and I think that Jaune was just so proud of you. It was _adorable._ " She reached over to pinch his cheeks; he slapped her hand away, but there was no denying his increasing blush.

Pyrrha herself was a little flushed, but she also took the opportunity to tease Jaune. "Why, Jaune! You never told me about that in your letters."

Jaune buried his face into his bookbag as he took the seat beside Pyrrha. "Because it's embarrassing!"

"Really?" Weiss sat down next, looking just as amused as Olive felt. "Wanting to support your childhood friend isn't a bad thing in the slightest. I know! Olive, why not pass the hoodie back to him? We can take a picture of them together."

Olive's grin got even wider; she _really_ liked having Weiss around. "That sounds perrrfect. Here you go, Jaune! Oh, and can I use your phone to take the picture? You can send it to Pyrrha that way."

After unlocking it, Jaune traded his phone for the hoodie, his face getting even redder all the while. Sapphire and Weiss were both doing the best they could to restrain their laughter, so Olive took it upon herself to be the photographer. "Come on now, you two. Don't be shy~"

Jaune pulled the garment over his head and looked at the girl next to him. "Are you okay with this, Pyrrha?"

"Very much so, Jaune." She was beaming, obviously pleased with the sudden turn of events. She scooched closer and leaned her shoulder against his. "Aren't you going to smile? They're about to take the picture."

"Right, right." He applied a bit of weight in return before looking at the camera with his trademark goofy grin. Jaune still looked a bit flushed, but it only added additional cuteness to the whole scene. "Ready whenever."

"Alrighty! Three, two, one-!"

 _Click!_ "It came out great! I'll go ahead and send it to Pyrrha's phone, so take a look." With the press of a few buttons, the image was transferred via Multimedia Message and Olive made to return the device. As she hit the home button on his phone, though, she noticed that he had a notification of a new message from Beaconbook. Was it...?

While the others were distracted, she clicked the app notification and read the message.

 _Crystal: Yes, I'll be at the dance; but I don't think we should have our first meeting there because you said that you'll be escorting your friend. I hope the two of you have a wonderful time!_

Just as she suspected; still, at least the Mystery Girl was letting Jaune go with his proper date. And if Olive had her way, things would stay just like that. "Here's your phone back, Jaune."

"Thanks. But I'm going to get you back for embarrassing me like this."

"I know, but believe me when I say that I'll be bringing this moment up for years." She made a mouth-click and finger-gun gesture. "Love you, Big Bro."

At that moment, their mother came out of her room and happily surveyed the scene. "Hello. You must be Jaune's friend."

Pyrrha stood up to go shake her hand. "Yes ma'am. My name is Pyrrha Nikos, and thank you for having me over today."

"My goodness, all of my son's friends get so formal when they meet me. Please, call me Juniper."

"Yes ma- Juniper." Pyrrha returned to her seat next to Jaune. In some ways, seeing Jaune with a girl on each side of him was quite the sight.

Her mother must've agreed, because Olive heard her mutter, "He really is turning out to be like his father. There'll be a line of broken hearts soon, I can just feel it."

Olive tilted her head. Just what did Dad put her through? Before she could ponder it any further, Jaune stood up and said, "Well, I'm gonna get ready for work. I'll be back down soon."

"Before you go, son, I need to ask a question."

"Sure, what is it?"

Rather than ask Jaune the question, Juniper Arc turned to Pyrrha and said, "Pyrrha, how would you like to see my son's baby pictures?"

She perked up. "I'd like that very much."

"Noo!" The apple red shade returned to Jaune's face as he darted upstairs to avoid the impending emotional torment. All of the females present broke into raucous laughter, and Sapphire left to fetch the appropriate photo albums. She soon returned, bringing Plum and Lavender along with her. The former was eager to meet Pyrrha, while the latter was almost resigned to it. As if meeting Jaune's date to the dance meant acknowledging her existence in his life.

Olive sent her a glare; they'd agreed to play nice. Lavender caught it and sighed before giving a subtle, curt nod back. Message received: she just hoped that she would _obey_.

- **Weiss** -

The day had already turned out to be quite fun. Her collusion with Olive had yielded positive results for Pyrrha and Jaune, and she'd been able to laugh the whole way through. A win for all involved.

They were going through the Arc photo albums, and Weiss had to admit that every one of the children were adorable when they were small. Jaune's blue bunny onesie, floppy ears included, was a particular favorite between Pyrrha and herself, leading Sapphire to pull open a hidden tab within the binder and extract copies of it. A fun day, indeed.

Oddly, Lavender had proven to be unusually sullen and withdrawn. If Pyrrha asked a question she'd answer it, but outside of those times she seemed to be unwilling to engage in the conversation. Was something the matter?

Juniper had excused herself, saying that she felt a little tired, and they happened to be nearing the end of one of the more recent albums when Pyrrha stopped and put her finger on a particular photo. "Is this Yang?"

Weiss leaned forward to get a good look. In the picture was: Jaune, sitting on the front porch and performing some unknown song; Sapphire, looking as if she were stomping in time with the music; and one Yang Xiao Long, evidently bemused as she watched the show. Across from her, Lavender confirmed the photo with her own eyes. "Ah, I took that one over the summer. Jaune plays out on the porch every Sunday, and we like to listen to him perform. Sometimes, if we know the song, we'll sing or dance along with him."

Pyrrha's eyes never left the image; it was as if she were burning it into her memory by force. "And Yang appeared to watch and listen as well?"

Lavender gave an honest smile for the first time the entire afternoon. To the average eye, it would be like any other smile; but to Weiss, who had spent years dealing with Whitley, her father, and many unscrupulous businessmen, her expression had an edge of nastiness to it. "Oh, yeah. Yang found our house by accident in the spring semester, though I don't remember the date. Ever since then, she's been coming by every week to have fun with all of us."

"E-every week?" The athlete seemed to falter a little.

This... This was all wrong. Weiss suddenly felt as if the afternoon had taken a giant step backwards. She started to speak. "Pyrrha, I'm su-"

But the youngest Arc wasn't done. "Well, not _every_ week. I think she's missed two... or three, maybe? But, yeah, pretty consistent. And last week- _OOF_!"

Olive sent her elbow into Lavender's side with a distinct lack of subtlety, but the damage was done. Pyrrha looked up, surprise written all over it. "Last week? What happened last week?"

Plum cleared her throat before Lavender could answer. "Jaune had a problem, and Yang helped with it. That's all."

"Hey, guys, so I'm about to go and..." Jaune returned to the living room right at that moment, his talking coming to a halt as he took everything in. "...Why does it feel like somebody died?"

Pyrrha opened her mouth, but closed it and shook her head. "It's okay, Jaune; we just got caught up in the moment. Will you be back soon?"

"Probably not for a while. Fridays are pretty busy for the restaurant. Sorry we couldn't hang out some more today; but if you want to stay for dinner, Jade's cooking today. I promise that it'll be good."

A brief moment of silence as she thought about it. "I think I'll take you up on that offer, thank you. Have a good night at work, Jaune."

She offered him a smile, though Weiss knew that it was a fake one. Jaune returned it regardless and bid farewell to the group at large. Pyrrha's smile dropped the second Jaune locked the door. Weiss felt like she should encourage her somehow, but wasn't sure where would be appropriate to start.

Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Pyrrha took the decision out of her hands by turning to her and asking, "Weiss, can I talk with you for a minute? I need some advice."

Oh. Oh dear.

X

 **Poor Pyrrha... Bad Lavender!**

 **You all may be wondering why Lavender turned nasty so quickly. To me, Lavender, and to a different extent the "Arc Council", kind of represent the danger of the Shipper mentality: when events don't go their way, things sometimes get ugly.**

 **Everyone, you're all entitled to your opinions; but what's wrong is bashing other people because they disagree with you. Show Ships are not life or death matters.**

 **Soapbox over. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you next time. Have a good day/night!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Enjoy!**

X

- **Weiss** -

The room was silent for just a moment following Pyrrha's request for a talk. With the atmosphere getting dimmer by the millisecond, Olive coughed and said, "Sapphire, how about you come help me with Lav here?"

Lavender flinched as Olive grabbed her shoulder. "Wait, what would Saph be helping with?"

" _Talking._ " The youngest Arc was promptly dragged from the room, Sapphire following behind them with all due haste. Plum mumbled a comment about helping Jade with dinner, leaving Weiss and Pyrrha alone in the living room.

Weiss desperately wanted to run from the room herself; but she knew that to do so would only worsen the situation, so she took a deep breath before meeting Pyrrha's eyes. The only saving grace was that the athlete didn't seem to be angry; only disheartened. "What did you want to talk about, Pyrrha?"

"What, uh-" Hesitation; or, at least, a moment of being tongue-tied. "What do you think of what Yang's been doing with her weekly visits?"

"I think... that Yang enjoys spending time with Jaune's family. How far that goes, or rather how Yang may or may not feel about Jaune, is not for me to say."

Pyrrha's look of desperation indicated that she may have misspoke. "But shouldn't that be obvious? Lavender's tone made it sound like-"

"Pyrrha." The redhead stopped talking in order to hear her words. "Yang explicitly told me just earlier today that she fully supported your relationship with Jaune; that she had from the beginning, and would continue to do so going forward. Tell me: does that sound like a woman aiming to steal him from under your nose?"

"No, it doesn't; and... it was Yang herself that pushed me into asking Jaune to go to the dance with me."

Progress was being made. "See? Whatever Lavender may think is going on, the fact is that Yang is looking out for both you and Jaune so that you can be happy."

"I see." Pyrrha spent a moment just slowly breathing in and out, visibly calming down with each instance. "Yes, I suppose that is true. Thank you, Weiss; I guess I became so anxious that I momentarily forgot just who it was that led me to this point."

"You're most welcome." She allowed herself smile of relief, happy that was able to diffuse the situation. "And, just so you know, I also wish you the best; so be confident, okay?"

"I will do my best." She suddenly stifled a small laugh behind her hand. "Isn't this all a little funny? Here I am, asking you for relationship advice about a boy who spent half of last year asking you out."

"They do say that truth is stranger than fiction. I can honestly say that I never imagined myself accepting a picture of Jaune in a bunny onesie."

"Wasn't he just the cutest?" They both had a laugh at that. "Thank you again, Weiss. Now, since you've been a guest here, would you kindly point me in the direction of the restroom?"

"It's just down that hall; you won't miss it."

Pyrrha excused herself, and Weiss was about to pour through the still-open photo albums when a voice behind her called out. "Nice recovery, Weiss. Sorry we left you to deal with it."

She turned to see that Olive had returned, having apparently stayed out of sight to eavesdrop. "She'd asked to speak to me personally, so there likely wouldn't have been any way for you to assist. However, may I ask just _what_ Lavender was doing?"

"She's kind of a big supporter of Yang and Jaune getting together. We told her to cool her jets before you guys came, but you can see how well that worked. We put her in timeout until dinner."

"Timeout?"

Suddenly, a screech sounded from the second floor of the house. "Why are there _baby_ _gates_ here!?"

"Timeout," she confirmed with a tiny grin. "So, you and Yang are both on the Pyrrha and Jaune train, hmm?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. Does that surprise you?"

"A little bit; but as long as Jaune's happy, it's all good to me." She looked to where Lavender's voice had sounded from. "Most of us feel that way, really. Lav is the only one pushing for Yang hardcore."

"Then your beliefs line up with my own; and, on that note, I went ahead and mentioned your plan to Yang. She said that she'd think about it, so you might be able to truly convince her to work with me if you explain it to her yourself."

Olive spun to face her with pure glee radiating from her eyes; those sapphire eyes that matched Jaune's to the minute detail. "Really!? That's freaking great! Way to get the ball rolling, Weiss!"

She accepted the praise with a simple nod. In some ways it was clear that Olive would proceed no matter what; but if she got involved, at least the plan would have a better chance of success. She hoped. "I did have a question for you. Are you sure that you want to work at your sister's restaurant? I'm sure that there are other places you could work as well."

Olive shook her head as she sat across from her. "It's about reliability. I know that as long as I don't mess up too much, Vermilion will let me work without threatening to replace me with somebody else. What other business around town would be willing to give a teenager more than a single chance? Plus, I will not say 'would you like fries with that' every thirty seconds."

That was when Pyrrha walked back in. "Are you thinking about getting a job over the summer?"

"Not quite, Pyr. Wait, can I call you Pyr?"

The athlete gave a wry smile. "It sounds pleasant to me."

"Cool; anyways, I'm wanting to get a job when I turn sixteen so that I can earn money for the family instead of Jaune. He deserves to play his music."

Pyrrha gave a slow nod, looking almost motherly in some way. "That's very commendable of you. Although, if that's why you wish to work, is there a reason that you're waiting until you're sixteen?"

"Vale labor laws say that I can't work until I'm sixteen."

Pyrrha put a finger to her chin in thought. "Actually, that's not quite true. Thanks to being involved with my sponsorship contracts, I know that Vale has the same labor laws as Mistral, and you're allowed to work any non-warehouse or mining job available as long as you're fourteen-years-old."

Olive froze, her mouth open wide enough to catch flies. "Wha- Bu- Mom said that it's sixteen, and she's a civil court lawyer! She knows the law from back-to-front!"

"You'll need a parent or guardian to fill out a consent form, as well as needing to inform your school; but once you have those two things taken care of, you shouldn't have any issues."

"But Mom said..." Olive rose from her chair. "I'll be right back."

She walked out of the living room, allowing Pyrrha to take her seat. "Did I say something wrong?"

"It seems that you just accelerated her plans a little." What that would mean for the Arc family remained to be seen. What could she do to help in all of this? "Pyrrha, would you be willing to help us with something?"

"Hmm?"

- **Olive** -

Her mother's words ran through her mind. _"You can only work when you're sixteen. Be patient_ _, Olive."_

Followed by Jaune's. _"Mom and I agree that you girls should just leave the work to me and focus on school. We've got this; trust me."_

Juniper Arc had almost every Valean law memorized. Why would she say that people could only work at sixteen? Why would her mother lie to her?

Olive crept towards the closed door of her mother's bedroom and put her ear to it. She could hear music playing, which meant that mom was awake. Good. Carefully, she knocked on the door three times. "Come in."

She opened the door and took in the familiar view. Juniper was laying on the left side of her four post bed and was clicking off the CD player on her nightstands. Before it was cut off, Olive recognized the tune as her father's singing, recorded long before she was born. "Hey, Mom. I'm not bothering you, am I?"

"Not at all. I've dealt with all the contacts the firm wanted me to, so I'm done for the weekend."

"That's good." She steeled her resolve; there was no other way but to dive in. "So, I've spent a lot of time thinking it over-" _-Months-_ "-and I think I really should work a real job. You know, help pay the bills instead of Jaune."

"Oh, Olive." Her mother frowned, and Olive could see that she'd have to push harder. "I told you, Jaune and I can handle everything while you girls go through school. Additionally, you're still only fifteen."

"Well, I was talking with Pyrrha and she told me that Vale actually lets teens as young as fourteen work if they tell their school and get a parental consent form signed. I'm sure Vermilion would let me work at her restaurant if we just talked to her."

Juniper pursed her lips. "Pyrrha told you that?"

"Yeah! She needed to know for her sponsorship deals. So, what do you think?" Her mother didn't answer right away, her eyes drifting to a spot just to Olive's left. When she turned to look, she saw that Juniper was looking at a full family picture: all of the Arc children, even Apricot, were smiling as Dad and Mom stood behind them.

After a minute, Juniper said, "Olive, do you understand that I didn't want Jaune to work, either? I only let him do so because I did the math; with only my income and this many mouthes to feed, we would've had to start pulling money from our savings sooner rather than later. Jaune is... he's working so that you girls can do anything that you want to."

Olive felt her blood beginning to simmer. Was her mother really going to fight her on this? "Mom, I don't _have_ anything I want to do. I'll have decent career choices in the future, sure, but it's Jaune that actually has a passion. He'd dedicate his every waking moment to his music if he could, and you know he got that from Dad."

"Olive-"

"Mom!" She didn't mean to shout, but her mother's expression of displeasure just set her off. "I've run through this again and again. My grades are practically perfect and I have all of this year's schoolwork _burned_ into my brain, so what could I lose from this? What would I do with my time if I don't work? Sit around the house feeling bored and miserable that I'm not allowed to help my family! Please, _please_... let me do this for Jaune. For ALL of us."

Silence once again. The sound of her heartbeat in her eardrums was deafening as she waited for her mother to speak. Olive continued pleading with her eyes, but Juniper was looking away as she deliberated with herself.

Jaune working at Vermilion's restaurant had been a slow process, just a night or two a week once his sophomore year started; but over time, he began needing to work three days a week. Then, four days a week. Eventually, the situation forced him to quit band altogether and work at least six out of seven for them to stay out of the red.

It was time for her to change that. Depending on how much she made, Jaune might need to work a shift or two still; but a day or two was okay, because that would leave him time for what he loved.

Ever so slowly, Juniper met her eyes. It was easy to see that she was sad, but Olive needed to do this. "All of us will sit down tonight and talk it over. My personal demand is that you keep your grades up while you work, but as long as you do that... as long as you put school first, I can help convince Jaune into this."

Juniper shifted her legs off of the bed and spread her arms for a hug and Olive quickly embraced her. She wanted to cry out of happiness, although some strange sense of pride stopped her from doing so. Myabe it was the adrenaline still punping through her. "Thank you, Mom; thank you. I promise, I'll be the best student I can be and still help us put food on the table."

"I know you will." Juniper ran her fingers over her hair as they hugged. "We can talk to Vermilion later. Maybe on Sunday."

"Okay." They stayed in that position for a moment longer, but Olive broke the hug first. "I'm going to see how dinner's going and hang out with Weiss and Pyrrha. Do you need anything, Mom?"

"I'm quite fine, thank you. I might be able to sit with you all at dinner today."

"Sounds good. See you then." With a wave of her hand she closed the bedroom door and simply stood there for a moment.

Until she pumped her fists in victory, that is. _'It worked! I got through to her! I understand where's she coming from, I really do, but this way all of us will be happier. Time to tell Weiss the good news!'_

She almost skipped down the short hall back to the living room, where Pyrrha was going over something that was displayed on her phone. "-All I'm saying, Weiss, is that Jaune wouldn't look right in that kind of outfit on stage."

"Well, what else would you recommend he wear on stage? He certainly couldn't pull off the punk rock appearance you first suggested."

"I didn't suggest punk rock, only something other than what you showed me." That was when Pyrrha noticed Olive's return. "Oh, welcome back. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is better than okay, Pyr. Did I hear something about outfits?"

"Indeed," answered Weiss. "Pyrrha and I were discussing what clothes Jaune might wear on stage if he became a musician, but she can't seem to grasp my sophisticated tastes."

"Well, I'll be the tiebreaker. What was it?" Pyrrha passed her phone over, and Olive was immediately inclined to agree with the athlete over the Schnee. "You want him to wear a monkey suit while playing the guitar in front of an audience? Weiss, no."

Weiss put her fists on her hips in frustration. "What's wrong with looking formal!? Are you saying that you don't think he would look good in a tuxedo?"

"What I'm _saying_ is that guitar players don't rock out in clothes measured and cut by the millimeters. Him being able to pull off a tux is irrelevant." She moved to sit beside Pyrrha, who had the slightest of smiles at winning the debate. "Anyways, Mom agreed to let me work as long as my grades stay up. Now it's just convincing Jaune to not be mad at me and talking to Vermilion for the job."

"About that, Olive," responded Pyrrha with a little trepidation, "Weiss gave me a summary of your idea. Do you really think that we'll be of any help getting Jaune to understand where you're coming from?"

"I'm betting that you'll get farther than I will. Arc stubbornness against Arc stubbornness tends to go very poorly; to be honest, I still can't believe that I managed to get through to Mom just now. Mom and I will talk to him after dinner; and if it doesn't quite work, that's when you and Weiss will have a crack at him." She thought about openly pleading, but something in Pyrrha's expression told her that it wouldn't be necessary. "Will you help, Pyrrha?"

"Certainly," came the immediate answer. "I'll call my parents right now and tell them that I'll be home later than I expected."

Retrieving her phone from Olive, Pyrrha stepped into the entryway to make her call. Olive took that moment to finally put the photo albums away, lest the redhead stare at them all evening. When Nikos returned to the living room, it was with a frown rather than a smile. "What's wrong, Pyr?"

"My parents just informed me that they scheduled a photo shoot for tomorrow morning despite the fact that I asked them not to. I actually have to return home now to see if I can salvage the situation, because if I don't then tomorrow will be an extremely packed day." She sighed, clearly regretful for the sudden departure. "I'm sorry that I won't be of any help with talking to Jaune tonight, but I promise to intervene if he's still against it over the weekend."

Olive felt that it was an honest shame, but people do what they have to do. "It's alright, Pyr. Will we see you tomorrow before or after the dance?"

"Jaune is picking me up from my house before the dance, but I don't know about after. I certainly hope that I see you all again soon."

"Me, too. Be safe going home." She gave the athlete a farewell hug, and Weiss bid her goodbye with a wave. Soon, Pyrrha was out the door and gone. "It's too bad that happened. Looks like it'll be just you as support if negotiations fail, Weiss."

"I have faith that we'll all convince him together." Sniff. "Jade's cooking smells exceptionally good. What's on the menu?"

"Dunno; but I think she's done by now, so let's go find out."

X

 **Opinion question: what do you think would be some of the staple Valean foods in a world without Grimm? I couldn't quite figure it out.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the brief chapter, and I'll see you next time; you know, when Jaune decides to be a loving yet stubborn bastard. Have a good day/night!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Enjoy!**

X

- **Jaune** -

Working as a server in any restaurant comes with its ups and downs. Your income is decided primarily by your professional attitude and the personality of the customers; so, sometimes you make a lot of money, and other times you just know that you won't get a tip at all because the patron was upset that their _soup was hot_. When the latter happens, all you can do is smile, apologise to the customer, and bring the soup back to the kitchen and leave it on the counter for a minute to cool down.

Jaune set the bowl of soup back onto the shelf where the food is moved from the kitchen to the customer and called out to the nearby Vermilion. "Setting this down, don't bother with it."

Vermilion looked up from her station and examined the contents. "Why, did it get sent back?"

"Apparently, it's too hot." His sister only blinked. "I'm not making it up, Sis. Table seven."

Her eyes zoomed to the designated table and narrowed in what might've been anger or frustation. Maybe it was both. "Middle-aged guy, overweight, bald?"

"That's the one. I'm gonna take nine their food out, and grab this when I come back."

Vermilion just shook her head and got back to work. "Make sure that you don't offer him dessert; if he sends back the special because the ice cream on it is too cold, I'll tear into his dumbass myself."

"Noted."

And that's just a sample of the dumb shenanigans that can occur in a restaurant. Thankfully, Mr. Soup was the only truly annoying customer that day, and when he clocked out at nine Jaune could say that he had a good friday shift. Grabbing his phone from the locker, he noticed that he had a message from his mother.

 _Mom: I hope you aren't too tired, because we're having a family meeting today. I'm sorry that this is so sudden. I love you, and be safe driving home._

 _'I hope everything's okay.'_ Bidding farewell to all of his co-workers, he spent the trip home wondering what could've come up in just the last few hours. _'We paid the electricity and water already, the internet bill should be arriving in a few days... I'm pretty sure all the budget stuff is good to go.'_

While the more advanced math topics could provide him with some trouble, money management had been beaten into him by virtue of having to balance accounts alongside his mother. Thus, with the financial worries settled, the only things that could have popped up while he was at work would involve someone being hurt or in trouble.

He drove home just a little bit faster.

When he safely parked and walked inside, he could hear everyone's voices coming from the dining room. Around the table, everybody living there was accounted for and, apparently, having a good time chatting. As his presence was noticed, however, the conversation quickly died; so he gave a small wave in greeting. "Hey, got your message. Is everybody okay?"

Juniper nodded from her seat at the end of the table. "Sorry if I worried you, but we didn't want you coming home and feeling blindsided. Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I've got some food in me. So, what's going on?"

Weiss chose that moment to excuse herself from the table, obviously feeling that she shouldn't be involved in the discussion. Jaune sat down opposite of his mother, who looked over at Olive and simply said, "Make your case."

Olive took a deep breath. Whatever it was about, she was really nervous. The other Arc girls offered her silent encouragement; clearly, they knew what was about to happen. When she considered herself ready, she looked at him and said, "Jaune, I think that it's time for me to start working so I can contribute to the family."

He sighed, already feeling a little frustrated. Hadn't they been over this before? "Olive, I told you before: I want you to focus on school and finding out what you want to do for a career. Besides, you're still fifteen."

She didn't waver for a moment. "I found out today that I can work if I have a parental consent form and tell Signal Academy what I'm doing. My age won't be a problem."

Huh, so she'd found out about that somehow. "My original point still stands."

"Jaune, first of all, you know that I've got all my coursework memorized already. I don't even have to study as it is, just fill out the homework assignments as I get them. I am _more_ than able to work and keep my grades up at the same time."

It was true, but she kept talking before he could comment. Olive was officially on her soapbox. "And second, I can figure out my career while I'm in high school. I have another four years to decide what I should do, so there's nothing stopping me from working at least a little now and saving up some money for when I _do_ know where I'm going. Nothing stopping me... except you."

Jaune put both of his hands on his face. Why was she doing this? "Olive, what are you trying to do? You wouldn't have called for a family meeting just to argue with me about you working."

"You're right." She seemed confident in herself, and that did nothing to make him feel better. "Jaune, all of us agree that you're putting too much of the burden on yourself. You should be playing music, not waiting tables six or seven days a week."

"Really? That's what we're here for?" A small scoff escaped his lips. He knew it was rude of him, but he couldn't help it. "Olive, do you have any idea how hard it is to have a career playing music? There is zero job security! If I, or my band, or _whatever_ I'm up to doesn't work out, how am I supposed to help this family? I'll be right back to serving soup and salads, except I'll be even poorer than I was before."

"Jaune." It was Jade who spoke up. "How long do you think you can stop us from working? Eventually, Sapphire and I will be able to work, too. Are you planning on stopping every single one of us from having a job while we live here?"

He pursed his lips. "Aren't you hoping to go to a university for a science degree, Jade? How are you gonna balance a science major and a full-time job?"

Sapphire put her two cents in next. "That's where I'll come in. If we rent out an apartment together in whatever city we wind up in, I can bring home the bacon while she goes to school. Jade's smart enough to aim for a scholarship, too, so we might not even have to borrow from the family savings to pay for tuition."

"And sacrifice your own college hopes?"

"Jaune, I don't have anything I want to do, okay? You're the only person here with a legitimate passion! The only reason Jade is going for a science major is because she knows that those jobs pay well. You've sacrificed your own happiness, and done your best to get us all through dad's death. It's time for us to help you now."

Jaune felt an anger simmering; and this time, his deep breathes weren't helping him. Why did they want him to stop doing what was stable? It didn't make sense. It didn't make sense! He rose and stepped away from the table. "I'm going outside."

"Jaune-" He tuned Olive out as he spun on his heel and exit the house through the front door. It was cold outside, but he barely felt his as he leaned over the railing of their front porch.

They wanted him to stop providing for them so that he could pursue something that had no guarantees. Did they think that he hadn't contemplated literally working with his music before? For his entire life, he had imagined himself wandering from city to city, village to village, earning his wages through nothing but his music and his smile; and if he didn't have a family to take care of, he might just have lived such a life. But that wasn't this life. He had five little sisters and a mother to help, so he would do what had to be done for them.

Jaune wasn't sure how long he was alone, but at some point he heard the door opening behind him. A moment later, Weiss, still in her school uniform, had joined him on the porch. She didn't say anything, so he started the conversation as he continued staring into the night sky. "Let me guess, you're on their side?"

"No," she answered firmly. "I'm on your side."

"I'm glad somebody sees it the way I do-"

"And that's why I want you to let Olive work." His eyes left the broken moon as he regarded her with confusion. "You heard me, Jaune Arc. What I want is for you to follow your passion; that's what I mean when I say that I'm on your side."

"Weiss, do you have any idea how few people manage to make it in the music industry long-term? I mean lasting more than just one performance or album."

"When I researched it earlier today, the experts noted it to be somewhere around five percent of all known performers. Why?"

He hadn't expected an actual number, but it only served to prove his point. "Five percent, and most of them can sing _and_ write songs. In case you don't remember, I'm not much of a songwriter."

"So you'll need somebody else to help you. That's hardly a sin." Jaune put his head to the railing, not wanting to respond to her anymore. The silence stretched for a full minute before Weiss broke it. "You know, I envy you, Jaune."

More confusion as he looked at her from his bent position. "Why?"

Weiss turned her own eyes to the moon. "You have a family that wants you to be happy without exception, and they'll do whatever they have to in order for that to happen. Both of my parents are alive, but one is the single most selfish bastard I know, and the other is often so drunk that she can't see straight. My only true ally is my sister Winter, and her career makes it impossible for her to defend me most of the time. Can you see where I'm coming from?"

He could, and the comparison of his family to hers only served to let him love them all even more. His head left the railing as he stood up fully, matching her lunar gaze. "You think that I'm doing the wrong thing."

"I think that you should consider their intentions to be the same as yours, and respect their ideas as you want them to respect your own; and nobody's saying that you need to follow a particular job path. You could become a music teacher and share your passion that way. I'm positive that there are more options than you are aware of."

"... I'll think about it. Maybe ask my mom or some of the teachers what I can do that would keep me in touch with music."

"And what about your sister starting work soon?"

Jaune turned around fully, putting his back to the railing as he looked between Weiss and the house. "You wouldn't happen to know where she wants to work, would you?"

"The Vermilion Garden, if she can convince your oldest sister to take her on."

It made sense. Vermilion was sure to give Olive a good chance to prove herself without going easy on her if she failed. The oldest Arc was quite the enforcer. "That might work. Do you... know if they're waiting for me inside?"

"To quote Plum before I came out here, 'this meeting isn't over yet!'" She reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "Listen to them. Let them help."

"...Okay." Jaune took a couple steps towards the door, but stopped and looked back at her. "What about you, Weiss? Do you have a career you want to follow?"

She responded with a quiet chuckle that was tinged with sadness. "If you had asked me that a week ago, I would've answered that I would someday take over the SEC and bring honor back to the Schnee name; now, I don't have anything to strive for. I guess you could say that I envy your passion for music, as well."

Ah, he messed up on that one; that was the entire reason she'd run away from home. "Sorry, I-I should've thought about that before opening my mouth."

She shook her head. "It's okay. In some ways, you and I are equally aimless. Maybe that's why I want you to succeed with your music."

An inspired question hit him. "Well, how do _you_ feel about music?"

"Hm?" The question seemed to catch her off guard. "Me?"

"Yeah, you're in the chorus, aren't you? So I'm assuming you like to sing, unless your dad pushed you into it like one of my other friends."

Weiss's expression was completely unreadable to him, but she did let out a mirthful laugh. "I haven't contemplated having a career in music, but it surely wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Tonight is about you and your family, though, so quit stalling and march back in there."

Jaune smirked a bit. "Sheesh, I sure seem to have a lot of bossy women in my life."

She returned the smirk in equal measure. "I'll take that as a compliment, now go."

"Fine, fine; as you command." He let himself be directed back into the dining room, and when he got there he noticed that Olive looked a bit hopeful. Maybe she could tell from his face that he'd come around a little.

He still didn't like the idea of her working, but Weiss helped him appreciate that all of the Arc children were acting out of the goodness of their hearts. It was only proper to respond in kind. "Sorry to make you wait. So, Olive, what exactly is your plan?"

Olive detailed her idea of applying to Vermilion's restaurant, just as Weiss had told him. Once she was done, he looked to Juniper Arc and asked, "And what do you think about this, Mom?"

"I told her that she can work as long as she puts school first."

"Alright. Olive, I'm going to go with Mom's way of thinking; but it's gonna be up to you to convince Vermilion, okay? Think of it as your first job interview."

The faces of all the Arc girls lit up with joy, and Olive all but sprinted around the table in order to hug him. Naturally, he returned the embrace happily. "Thank you. I won't let any of us down."

"I know you won't, because you've always made me proud, Sis." The rest of the children moved in for the kill, and soon there was an awkward huddle taking up all of the walking space near him. Weiss and Juniper surveyed the scene with equal parts happiness and amusement, both content to let the sight continue without end. The Arc family would stick together, just as they always had.

Once the group hug separated, Jaune bid them all good night and went upstairs to take a shower. On the way to the restroom, however, he saw something strange in the hallway and shouted for whomever could hear him. "Hey, why are the baby gates down from the attic!?"

"Oops!" Olive quickly met him in the hall and retrieved said barriers. "Sorry, I forgot to put these away earlier. I had to put Lav in timeout."

"...I don't even want to know, do I?"

"Nope. Later!" She disappeared with the gates, leaving him shaking his head as he wondered just Lavender had done.

One shower later, his phone had two new text messages; one from Pyrrha, and one from Yang.

 _Pyrrha: It was wonderful meeting your family today! I know it's late, so I just wanted to wish you a goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow!_

 _Yang:_ _Pyrrha told me that she met with your family today. How come I never got the "meet the family" treatment? LoL. See you at the dance!_

 _P.S. She also told me that she saw the picture of you in a bunny onesie. Not sure if you know, but your family passed me a copy of it a while back. You were so **cute** as a kid!_

Before Jaune went to bed, he created a mental "to-do" list: One, have a good time at the dance tomorrow; two, message Vermilion to come over Sunday before the restaurant opened; and three, find the source of the picture leak and subject them to a tickle torture unlike any the world had ever seen.

X

 **Say it with me: Awwwww.**

 **At the moment, I don't know if the dance will be one chapter or two. It will likely depend on how big it gets as I write it. Please bear with me either way.**

 **I hope you enjoyed it, and please have a nice day/night!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Just so you know, everybody is wearing their V2 prom outfits with only minor alterations** **at most.**

 **X**

- **Yang** -

Summer seemed a little doubtful about her daughter's choice of dress as she brushed her luxurious hair. "Are you sure this is what you want to wear to the dance, honey? It's November; you're going to be freezing later!"

"That's why I have the sweater, Mom; and they keep the ballroom pretty warm, so I won't even need it while I'm inside the building. I thought you knew this?"

"I do, it's just a little..."

"Summer-y?" Yang was wearing a sleeveless white dress with thin shoulder straps and a flaired skirt that stopped just a hair above her kneecaps. The cut of the neckline revealed was deep enough to show tops of her bust, but the sheer yellow sweater that she could put on would cover them up just a little bit more. "I wanna be comfortable while I'm dancing on the floor, that's all."

Summer shrugged. "If you say so. Now, do you remember my rules?"

"For the tenth time, Mom, yes: Don't bring any boys home unless it's because they're sick and need a place to crash; if I'm gonna be out past midnight, let one of you guys know; and most importantly, just have a good time."

"Right on the nose; also, make sure you smell the punch before you drink it. I have no idea if the seniors still try to spike the bowl with alcohol." She set the hair brush down and gave a satisfied look at her hard work. "If you do wind up drinking the poisoned stuff, don't be afraid to call us for a ride home."

"I will." Yang slipped on her white pumps as she stood up in front of the mirror. "Last year's seniors got in a metric ton of trouble for even trying. I think Professor Goodwitch was setting an example."

"That's a good example to set. Now, how about we head downstairs so your father can use his obligatory 'no boys better approach my daughter' look?"

"Sounds like fun." They shared a laugh and went to the living room, where Qrow and Taiyang were busy watching a football game; Mount Glenn University against Emerald City College, an old rivalry match that was always hyped up to the extreme. "Hey, old guys. What's the score?"

"Seven-'O' in favor of EC, firecracker. And don't call me old." Qrow looked away from the screen and gave a small 'hm' as he appraised her. "Aren't you gonna be cold?"

"This again?" She rolled her eyes for dramatic effect. "I already heard it from Mom, so come up with some new material."

Taiyang turned and examined her next, sporting a tiny frown. "Is there somebody that you're wanting to impress in that dress?"

"Not really, Dad." At least, that was the story. She had asked her mother not to tell Tai about her feelings for Jaune. Summer agreed, citing that her husband's overprotective personality would likely lead to the man interrogating Jaune, especially if he found out that Yang was intentionally burying her feelings for someone else's sake.

There was a loud knock on the front door about twenty minutes after she was ready. Summer went to answer it, and a moment later Nora came bouncing into the house. She was wearing an exceptionally pink dress, complete with frilly skirt. "Hey there, Yang! You ready to go?"

"Yep," she answered with a pop on the 'p'. She gave Summer and Taiyang farewell hugs, fistbumped her miraculously not-drunk uncle, and hopped into van that awaited her outside. With Ren at the wheel and Nora riding shotgun, she slid comfortably into the middle section of seats. "Thanks again for driving, Ren. I thought you were picking Blake up before me?"

He acknowledged her thanks with only a nod. "She had us pick you up first, citing a last-minute wardrobe issue. Are you buckled in?"

"Ready to go." The aging engine came to life with a roar, and they were quickly on their way to the Belladonna home. Yang and Nora had an animated conversation about fog machines and how they could be used to spice up a dance, which helped the ride go by in the blink of an eye. Once they arrived at their destination, Yang volunteered to fetch the kitty and hopped out.

The Belladonna home was a little unlike your typical house in that every entrance was much larger than normal; this used to confuse her, until she met Blake's dad and found out that he was a physical _beast_ of a man. Afterwards, confusion became mild concern for how he could walk into a public building and not slam his forehead on every low-hanging decoration.

Yang grabbed the giant knocker on the front door and gave it a hearty slam. Barely ten seconds had passed before Kali Belladonna answered the front door, dressed in her everyday kimono. "Hello, Yang. Blake will be ready in just a moment."

"Sure thing, Mrs. B. What kind of 'wardrobe issue' did she have?"

"The 'father disapproves' issue," she replied with a soft laugh. "I'm sure you can understand."

"Completely. 'And where are you going dressed like that, young lady?'" She gave a small shrug. "In my dad's defense, I do go clubbing in those outfits."

"I think Ghira would lock Blake in her bedroom before he allowed that. Would you like to come in while-"

"No need, I'm ready." Blake materialized beside her mother. She was wearing a full-length purple dress, with a thin shirt beneath it that was a lighter shade of purple. It was conservative, but still regal. "Sorry to make you wait. Yang."

"No problem. Let's boogie, kitty."

"Please don't ever say 'boogie' again. Have a good night, mom."

"Have fun, dear." Kali gave Blake a firm hug before dismissing her, and soon all four teenagers were on their way to Beacon.

"So, Blake," asked Yang with her trademark tease in her voice, "I forgot to ask: did you ever agree to dance with Sun?"

Blake's response was neutral. "Actually, yes."

"Oh? And why the change of heart?"

"Sun agreed to not expect anything particular out of tonight, and that we'll see how things go. If I don't feel any chemistry with him, he and I will remain as friends." Her expression softened as she continued. "And if there is some chemistry there, there's little doubt that he'd be a better guy than my ex."

Yang withdrew just a hair at the reminder. "Ah. Is... Adam still in prison?"

"Last time I checked."

Nora unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned almost completely over her seat to glare both at them. "Today is a happy day! None of that, or I'll throw you out of the van and make you do push-ups until you drop!"

Yang threw her hands up while Blake recoiled. "Okay, okay! Just sit back down before Ren has a heart attack!"

The Valkyrie gave them one final look before buckling herself back in and launching into a monologue about a giant scorpion that she had dreamt of. As she began describing the bizarre events that led to her nailing its stinger through its own body, Blake and Yang looked at each other and reached a silent agreement: Nora was right, and they needed to just enjoy the dance for what it was.

Before long, Ren successfully parked the van in Beacon's parking lot and the four friends walked to the ballroom together. The song playing over the speakers was relaxing as opposed to invigorating; so while there were a few couples already partaking in slow dances together, most of the students were either standing around in small groups or sitting at one of the tables. They decided to follow the latter example by finding an empty table and sitting down, making sure that there were three extra chairs for the late arrivals to sit in.

Nora left the table but quickly returned with seven cups of punch nestled between her arms. Before drinking it, Yang took a quick sniff of it like she promised she would; thankfully, it smelled only of the normal fruit punch. Where did people buy this stuff from to begin with? "Do you guys think the DJ will start playing some faster music soon?"

"I sure hope so!" Nora took a hearty gulp of her drink, almost downing the entirety of it before she set the cup down. "Some of us came here to dance!"

"And what, exactly, is wrong with slow songs?" Four sets of eyes turned to examine the new arrival. Jaune, decked out in a suit with red trim and bowtie, was giving Nora a look as if she'd lost her mind. "Slow songs are romantic, even if it is a little cheesy sometimes."

"I, myself, have a preference for waltzes, but finding a good partner can be difficult." Weiss appeared on Jaune's left and pulled a seat out for herself. She was wearing a dress not dissimilar to Yang's own, but her neckline was a little shallower and had a mesh that wrapped around her neck. The outfit was completed with a little tiara in her hair, befitting of the heiress that she no longer was. "However, I must admit that a night filled only with such music would be dull."

"Finding a good balance must be rather difficult for the DJ." Pyrrha finished the trio, dressed in a full-length red gown that shimmered just the faintest bit in the lighting of the ballroom. Jaune, likely acting on the training he once mentioned Vermilion put him through, pulled out a seat for Nikos to sit in before moving to take his own. Pyrrha's pleased expression showed that the gentlemanly act was not unappreciated, and Yang had to struggle against the ugly jealousy that raced through her heart.

"I'm glad you three made it here safely," she opted to say before aiming some snark at her crush. "Jaune, you aren't by any chance saying that you can only dance to slow songs, are you?"

" _Please_ ," he countered as he crossed his arms. "When you have seven sisters, you learn to dance to everything under the sun. I'm confident that I could chase you right off of the dance floor with my moves, Yang."

"Big talk, fellow blonde. I guess you'll just have to prove it to me after you dance with P-money for a bit."

"Look forward to it, Xiao Long." Almost on cue, the song that was playing ended and gave way to a much more enthusiastic piece. Jaune chuckled. "Good timing. Pyrrha, would you like to dance?"

"I would _love_ to dance." Leaving her drink untouched, Pyrrha took the offered hand and the duo disappeared into the crowd. Ren and Nora quickly followed suit, and shortly after Sun appeared in order to awkwardly whisk Blake away to the dance floor.

Yang finished her cup and rose to start dancing herself, but noticed that Weiss had apparently chosen to remain in her seat. "You gonna dance, Ice Queen?"

Weiss shook her head. "I'll join soon, just not right now."

"Suit yourself." Yang let her be without any further thought, losing herself in the music as her nightclub mentality took her body over. For the next hour or so she simply danced from one spot to the next, perfectly happy not to have anything on her mind as the DJ did his thing. It was a good dance with decent atmosphere, and she promised herself that she'd get Ruby to come next year for sure.

As she made her rounds on the dance floor she noticed that Jaune now seemed to be dancing alone, though he wasn't upset in the slightest. A quick glance to their designated table revealed that Pyrrha was chatting with Neptune and Weiss. When the music shifted back to something slower, Yang felt compelled to make her way over to her fellow blonde. "Dancing by yourself, stranger?"

Jaune cracked a grin even as his body kept in time to the more relaxed beat. "My partner decided to take a short break; but I'm still up for dancing if you're game, stranger."

"Sure thing." She threw in a flirtatious wink, causing him to laugh as one of his hands joined hers and the other was placed in the small of her back. They began making slow circles, and Yang had to fight the urge to close the small gap between their bodies. "Is Cereal Girl a good dancer? I haven't been looking at you two much."

"Pyrrha didn't know that many moves at first, but she's always been a quick study. She kept up just fine. What about you, Yang? Are you having fun flying solo today?"

"Meh, it's like any other club night for me. At least all the guys I caught staring are around my age, for once."

"Well, you do look pretty amazing tonight." A beat passed as scarlet blushes crept onto both of their cheeks. "I-I'm sorry, I just kinda spoke and- oh, I can't believe I just said that out loud."

"I-it's alright, Jaune. Settle down a little." Damn him for saying that! She was gonna be replaying that in her head all night, she just knew it. The air between them was considerably more awkward now, and when the song ended Yang couldn't help but make her retreat. "I'm, uh, I'm gonna go talk with Pyrrha for a little bit."

He looked as out of place as she felt. "Uh, sure thing. See you around."

Before going to meet with Pyrrha, she decided to grab a couple more cups of punch. Mercury was manning the station, so she spent a moment chatting with him about his on-again off-again girlfriend Emerald, who had apparently just switched them to "off" for the night. Once the pleasantries were finished, she brought the drinks to the table and offered one of them to the athlete who had been left alone at the table. "Need a drink, Pyr?"

"Yes, thank you." She accepted the cup and sipped from it a little. Yang expected herself to be the one to start an actual topic, but as she sat down Pyrrha launched straight into a question. "Yang, please be honest: do you have feelings for Jaune?"

She felt herself flinch a little at the inquiry. "Hey, what brought this up?"

Another sip; she seemed a little nervous. "Jaune's sisters told me that you've been going over to his house every Sunday since last school year; somebody who's just a friend wouldn't do that. And just now, with the way you were looking at him as you were dancing..."

"Oh." She hadn't thought about how the dance might've looked from the outside, especially after Jaune had her blushing from his little slip. Pyrrha was giving her a rather intense stare, and while she didn't look angry, Yang could tell that there would be no avoiding this line of questioning. She took a deep breath and met Pyrrha's eyes with her own. "Yeah, I do."

"Then why? Why set him up to go with me to the dance?"

Her first instinct was to admit that she had failed to fully process her feelings until just two days prior, but she suspected that Pyrrha wouldn't appreciate that answer. "Because you two are my friends, Pyrrha, and I want you both to be happy."

Pyrrha turned her eyes to Jaune's place on the dance floor, where Yang could see him sharing a dance with Weiss. Jaune seemed to have recovered from his earlier mistake and was slow dancing with the former heiress just like he'd danced with her. Since Weiss was a full head shorter, it made the soft look she was giving him as she looked into his eyes all the more pronounced, and that helped Yang understand why Pyrrha was nervous. Just what did Weiss think of him, anyways?

The redhead downed the last of her liquid courage, looking into the empty bottom as if she wished there were more. Yang wordlessly passed her own cup over, which Pyrrha accepted with a nod. Once she had another long swig of punch, she set the cup down and turned back to Yang. "Then, again, thank you; but just so you know, I refuse to lose to you."

"I know. That's why you need to tell him how you feel tonight, Pyrrha; so you won't have any regrets." Gods, how did Summer do it all those years ago? This was tearing her up.

Pyrrha nodded once more, this time to herself, before making her way over to Jaune and Weiss. The goddess of speed tapped the former heiress on the shoulder and spoke some words that Yang couldn't hear. The message behind them was clear, however, as Weiss nodded and swapped places with the athlete, leaving the latter slow dancing with the boy while the former went to get herself a refreshment. Soon enough, the sparkling tiara announced the girl's return to the group table.

It seemed that her night wasn't quite over yet.

- **Weiss, Earlier that same day** -

Lavender gave a small "ooh" of admirement. "That's so pretty! Do you like wearing tiaras?"

Weiss smiled as she worked on the ends of her hair with a brush. "If the occasion warrants it, yes. I decided that it would compliment the dress quite nicely this evening."

"The dress is also nice," Lavender responded as she gently placed the tiara back on the bed. "But not everyone can pull off white dresses. No wonder Jaune once called you a snow angel."

Amused, Weiss finally set the brush down and put her hair into her signature side-ponytail. "I can't believe he shared that story with you. For someone who hates being embarrassed, he certainly seems to have no issue divulging information that can come around to bite him."

"I think it's because he tends to say what's right on his mind instead of thinking his words through." The youngest Arc shrugged as if to say 'what can you do?' "At least he's a good guy, so it isn't like he's going around acting like a pig."

"I agree wholeheartedly." She took a moment to appraise her appearance. Klein had only recently dropped off her dress and tiara, but the simplicity of her attire meant that all she had to do now was put on the headwear and she would be good to go. The other Arc girls were either assisting Jaune with his clothes (Olive and Sapphire) or playing a board game in the living room, but Lavender had opted to keep her company instead.

Weiss had to admit that she didn't completely understand the youngest Arc child, especially with her passive-aggressive actions against Pyrrha; but, she could also admit that she wanted to get to know the whole family better. It was with that in mind that she turned to Lavender and said, "Lavender, may I ask you an odd question?"

A raised eyebrow. "Go ahead, I guess."

"Olive informed me that you wish for Jaune and Yang become a couple. That is correct, yes?"

"Yes, and...?"

"With that in mind, I can understand why you acted how you did around Pyrrha; however, I fail to understand why you haven't, for lack of a better phrase, done the same to me. Why the difference in attitude?"

"Ah, that." Lavender tapped her toe on the ground in an awkward fashion. It was as if she was unsure of something, but the Arc took a deep breath and asked, "Do you remember what we told you about Gamma and Terrier?"

"Of course I do. Gamma is for guest and Terrier stands for temporary pet. What about it?"

"Well, think about it a little bit. If we bring a pet to the house, that's because it needs a family. Gamma is the same thing, just for people instead."

Weiss contemplated that for a moment. "I can understand the correlation, but I don't see how it answers my original question."

"Look, if you were 'just a guest-'" -she emphasized the words with air quotes- "then I probably would've treated you like Pyrrha; but Jaune didn't say you were a guest, he called for Gamma instead. That meant we needed to make a home for you, and when I saw you that night I understood perfectly why. You were limping a little from the broken shoe, you were starving, and you were wearing somebody else's clothes because yours were stuffed in a plastic bag; but, most importantly, you had bags under your eyes that _screamed_ that you hadn't slept in days. You needed a _family_. That's why we went through the whole 'Jaune brought a girl home' skit, because you clearly needed a distraction from whatever happened to you."

Weiss sat down on the guest bed as she absorbed the new perspective on Wednesday night. The Arc family had observed everything about her and, without even communicating beyond the word "gamma", decided on the perfect way to make her feel at peace. They were prepared to do anything to help, even if it meant putting aside their personal agendas. She shook her head in amazement. "This family truly is something else. Your parents have raised you to be great hosts."

"And don't you forget it!" Lavender puffed her chest out like a peacock, the comparison almost completed with a strut. "Although it was Vermilion and Jaune that..."

She trailed off before ceasing to speak entirely, leading Weiss to ask, "That what?"

The ten-year-old shook her head. "Nevermind; today's a dance, so it's a bad day to drop a drama bomb on you. You and Jaune don't need any bad vibes going around, okay?"

"If you say so." It was obvious that the conversation was done for the day, so she moved onwards by handing her tiara to Lavender. "Would you help me put this on the best way you think it will look?"

"Absolutely!"

The discussion went back and forth for a little while, until it was decided that the tiara would be best situated around her ponytail. Now ready for the evening, Weiss and Lavender walked to the living room where the others were. Jaune, wearing a black tuxedo with red trim and bowtie, was chatting with Olive, but when Weiss appeared he turned to her and grinned. "Wow, you look pretty incredible, Weiss."

"Thank you." She felt herself preen a little bit, and on a whim she decided to tease him a little bit. "I must say, you look exceptional in that tuxedo. I guess it's true what they say: the clothes really do make the man."

Jaune rose to the challenge, his grin getting even wider. "Oh-ho-ho! The Ice queen has jokes, I see. At least I'm going _with_ somebody, even if it is a friend. You're gonna be stuck in the backseat of the truck allll by yourself."

 _'Oh, did he_ really _go there?'_ "Jaune Arc, are you insinuating that I can't get somebody to dance with me?"

"What I'm saying, Weiss Schnee, is that you shall be missing out on being my dance partner on account of your _frosty_ attitude."

Sapphire snickered from her seat on the sofa. "Are you sure that you're escorting Pyrrha tonight, Jaune? Because there's a certain something going on here and I'm not gonna be the one to put a name to it."

Weiss and Jaune just blinked as they regarded her words, but the latter was the first to crack as he flushed a little and gave an awkward cough. "Yes, I'm sure that I'm going with Pyrrha."

"Uh-huh." Olive let those words hang in the air before continuing to speak. "Mom may be asleep in her bedroom, but she made me promise to take a picture of you two before you left. I've got the digital camera ready to go, so both of you scooch in together."

It took a minute for them to take the picture since they were both trying to recover from Sapphire's jab, but eventually they got a shot of Jaune putting his arm around her shoulders. The image came out very well, and Weiss felt a sense of contentment arise as she examined it. The entire affair felt very warm, and she was reminded of Lavender's words: the Arc family was giving her a home.

Suddenly, a week-old memory flashed of her calling Neptune to pick her up so she could avoid Jaune. The vision sent a spike of pain through her heart as she remembered that she had still failed to tell Jaune the truth. She was a family member under false pretenses, and it _hurt_ to think about how he would take the knowledge of her transgression. She couldn't hide it anymore, but to do so that day would ruin his night with Pyrrha.

...Sunday. The day after the dance, she would tell him everything.

Jaune's voice beckoned her return to rhe present. "Weiss, are you ready to go? We still have to pick up Pyrrha."

"Yes, I'm ready. Let's go."

The fifteen minute ride to the Nikos household was pleasant and mainly consisted of Jaune singing along with the radio. Weiss didn't know any of the songs, but as each one progressed she could hum along with the melody. Once they reached their destination, they both exited the truck and walked to the front door. It was quaint, far smaller than the Arc home, but the neatly maincured lawn and auburn paint helped it to stand out from its neighbors. Jaune gave three solid knocks, which was followed by the door opening almost immediately. Pyrrha was wearing a stunning, red body-length dress, and Weiss briefly wondered if she should have worn her sapphire dress with its matching brooch before she perished the thought.

Pyrrha's smile was quite pronounced. "Hello! I must say that both of you look very nice this evening."

Jaune made a small bow. "I'd hate to make my escort look bad, after all. You look great in that dress."

"Thank you!" Her chest seemed to swell from the compliment. "My parents were wanting to see you before we left for the dance, but they were both called in to work a few hours ago. If we have some time after the dance, would you mind coming in to greet them?"

"Sure, no problem. Are you ready to go?"

"Indeed I am."

It was at that time that Weiss discovered how it felt to be the third wheel in a given situation. Crammed into the miniature pull-down seat behind Jaune, the light conversation between him and Pyrrha felt like a conversation she couldn't intrude on. It wasn't that they were leaving her out on purpose, they were both much too nice for that; it was just that Pyrrha seemed so happy, and Weiss simply had no reason to butt in.

Additionally, the athlete's request for Jaune to come into her home after the dance felt a little suspect, to say the least. From her own perspective, it appeared that Nikos was now taking the aggressive route to Arc's heart; not that he would catch the subtle clues, anyways. Idly, Schnee wondered if Pyrrha's parents would actually be home later in the night.

...Maybe she would need Ren to drive her home this evening.

Upon reaching their destination and crossing the threshold to the ballroom, Jaune was able to quickly spot their friends sitting at a table and led the way to join them. After some idle chatter and following the DJ shifting the music to something more appropriate for a party, Weiss found herself alone at the table, nursing her punch and mentally commenting on the decor. _'The table covers are a wonderful color, but some doilies would've made the look more complete. The banners are adequate, I suppose. Floral arrangements, very exceptional! And-'_

"Hey there, Weiss." A voice called out to her, so she turned to the source and found Neptune standing awkwardly by the table. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

She shook her head. "Some company would be nice. Go right ahead."

"Thanks." He pulled out the chair left of hers and sat down, and they shared a brief moment of silence as they both observed the dancers on the floor. It was broken by Neptune clearing his throat. "So, uh, you look better now."

"Hm?" She looked over at him questioningly. "How do you mean?"

"Well, it's just that you seemed a little down while we were watching the play. I'm glad to see that you cheered up a little."

"Ah, I see. I must say that I do feel better." Beat. "I'm surprised that you aren't dancing with anybody, Neptune."

"Nah, I give new meaning to the phrase 'two left feet.'" Neptune laughed at himself for a moment. "The only reason I'm here is that Sun wanted a wingman in case things got bumpy with Blake, but he seems to be doing alright."

Weiss's eyes drifted over to the named pair. Sun was dancing, well, a bit like a monkey honestly; but Blake seemed amused at his antics, and they both grooved in time with the beat. "Indeed it does."

"Yeah, but how about you, Weiss? A girl as pretty as you shouldn't have to sit by herself."

She took his flirting for what it was and smiled in appreciation. "Yes, well, I've been informed that I'm a little _frosty_. Any man that wanted to approach me was likely put off to some extent."

In her peripheral vision, she saw Pyrrha step away from Jaune and begin walking towards the table. She mused that even athletes needed a break from dancing.

"Well, how about you and I dance?" Neptune's suggestion caused her attention to snap right back to him. "I can't pull off any real moves, of course, but I could probably do an easy back-and-forth to a slow song just fine."

Weiss honestly hadn't expected an invitation from him after he saw her miserable state just a week prior. She sipped the last of her drink as she processed his words, but afterwards she gave him a nod. "That would be nice."

"Cool." He gave an honest smile before noticing the approaching redhead. "Hey, Pyrrha. Resting your feet a little?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that my track events haven't prepared me for hour long dance marathons."

Weiss winced despite herself and pulled her phone from her handbag to check the time. An entire hour had passed? She and Neptune had only recently begun talking, so how long had she spent simply observing the festivities? Goodness, how the time flies.

The trio simply talked for a minute, until the speakers began inviting the students to a slow dance. Neptune stood and extended her a hand, which she accepted, and together they found a spot to dance. They joined hands and began to do a one-two step. Unfortunately, Neptune _truly_ had no sense of rhythm, and Weiss found herself having to guide him. He flushed a little as she led the simple dance. "Sorry. I swear I'm going to go to a dance class one of these days."

"It's okay, Neptune. Just try not to step on my foot... again, and you'll do just fine."

"Right." They danced in silence for a minute, with Neptune occasionally looking at his feet to make sure he didn't repeat his error. It was a little strange to be leading him, but it wasn't as if he meant to cause the damage he did. When Neptune filled the void of sound between them, it was with no small amount of trepidation. "Hey, Weiss?"

"Yes, Neptune?"

"If I invited you on another date, maybe one that didn't involve dancing, would you say yes? We could catch a movie, or go to the park..."

There it was again; a genuine offer from him to her that could, potentially, lead to something more. Neptune was certainly not low on the list of possible suitors, and she did so enjoy his presence when she was in a right state of mind. So, why was it a little less appealing than it was when he invited her to the play? "I... would have to get back to you, Neptune. My personal affairs are still in a state of chaos, and I'd like to get my family matters sorted before thinking about any... possible relationships."

His expression dimmed a little further. "Ah, I-I can understand that. I know that life can be crazy, so you do what you need to."

"Thank you for understanding." She didn't enjoy doing that to him, but she had by no means lied. She still needed to confront her father and determine what she would be doing with her life from now on; and, if necessary, finding a more permanent place to live.

The song ended, so Weiss took a step back and curtsied. He bowed in response, seemingly grateful to take a step back so that they could avoid the awkward atmosphere that had been created. She turned to walk back to the group's table and noticed that Yang was more-or-less powerwalking away from Jaune, having apparently finished a dance with him. Jaune was rubbing the back of his head as he tended to do when he felt out-of-place.

Without thinking, Weiss walked over to him and curtsied when he noticed her. "May I have a dance?"

He dropped his hand from his hair and chuckled. "Sure, I just hope I don't put my foot in my mouth again."

The song that came on next was, to her faint surprise, a waltz. They approached each other and assumed the appropriate position; Weiss noticed that he was much more confident than Neptune was, and as they began moving in time to the music decided that his proclamation of his dancing skills had not been an idle boast. He properly led her around the floor, and suddenly she was enjoying herself quite a bit more.

"If I may ask," she started after a maneuver where there hold was reduced to one hand before rejoining, "But did something bad happen between Yang and yourself just now?"

"Nothing bad, really; I just said something... a little embarrassing and made things awkward." He shrugged. "Did you enjoy your dance with Neptune?"

So he had seen her? "It was pleasant, yes. Though my foot hurts a little."

"Your foot?" Jaune suddenly looked a little worried. "Is it the sprain from Wednesday?"

Weiss felt touched at his concern, but she made sure to laugh it away. "No, not at all. He just stepped on it on accident."

"Oh. Oooh, okay." His relief was almost palpable. "Well, we've all done that at one time or another."

"Even professionals make errors," she agreed. "You, on the other hand, do a lovely waltz."

He adopted an over-the-top, posh tone. "Why thank you, madam, and the same goes to you."

"Oh, quit it with the voice."

They shared a smile, but right then she felt a tap on her shoulder. Pyrrha was holding a hand towards Jaune, with a smile of her own that didn't quite reach her eyes. Was her face a little red? "May I cut in?"

"Certainly." Weiss let go and allowed the partners to rejoin. She was about to bid Jaune a vocal farewell, but Pyrrha gently pushed him into the crowd. Perhaps she was feeling a bit jealous, an emotion that Weiss certainly had not meant to cause in the athlete.

Deciding that she should vacate the floor, Weiss fetched herself a cup of punch before returning to the group table. Yang was sitting there alone, and when she noticed the approached Schnee raised two fingers in a lazy hello. "How's it hanging, Weiss?"

"It could certainly be worse. And yourself?"

"All's good on my end, thanks."

"Good." Weiss sat down after that, the air between the two stiff and uncomfortable. After several moments without a sound, a thought occured to Weiss and she turned to her companion. "Yang, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Boy, doesn't that sound familiar?"

Weiss ignored the dry bite and pressed on. "I cannot continue to impose on the Arc family's goodwill without thinking about what I should do with my life. Tomorrow, would you be willing to drive me to my estate? I believe that it's time to confront my father."

Yang lightly tapped the table as she thought about it. "I could do that. Will you need a ride back?"

"I can't rule out the possibility."

"...Alright, I'll do it if you agree to one thing."

"And that would be?"

Yang looked her square in the eyes. "Stop hiding the truth."

Weiss nodded. "That will also happen tomorrow, regardless of what occurs with my father. The status quo... cannot remain as it is."

Yang stuck a hand out. "It's a deal, then. Know that I _will_ hold you to this."

"I know you will. Thank you." She shook the offered hand firmly. Once the pact was sealed, she grabbed her punch and took a drink of it-

-and almost immediately spit it back out. Only years of etiquette training stopped her from doing so, and as the liquid slid down her esophagus she began to massage her throat. "Wh-Why did that burn going down!? It wasn't like that before!"

"What?" Yang snapped to attention and took a deep sniff of what was left in what Weiss presumed was her own cup. "Somebody spiked the punch, and holy crap does it smell strong! Shouldn't the teachers have stopped this!?"

Weiss glanced around the room, trying to recall everything she'd observed during her earlier boredom. "I recall Professor Goodwitch standing by the punch bowl when we arrived, but something must've pulled her away."

"And somebody took that as an opportunity. Wait-" Yang began frantically searching the crowd. "Pyrrha drank a whole bunch of it! _Shit_ , where is she!?"

Weiss felt the color drain from her face as her mind began to race. "Yang, go find Pyrrha and Jaune while I warn the teachers!"

X

 **I would like to forego all of my usual lines and say that if you're thinking of spiking a friend or a group of friends with alcohol for laughs:**

 ** _Don't_.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** **The finale of Act one. Enjoy.**

X

- **Jaune** -

Jaune Arc liked to think that he was decent at reading people. Getting a feel for their personalities, likes, and dislikes seemed to come natural to him, and it always helped him figure the best way to have meaningful friendships or avoid bad eggs. As Pyrrha not-so-gently pulled on his arm and led him to the second floor of the ballroom, however, he began to realize that he might've been missing a page or two of information. "Pyrrha, where are you taking me?"

"I think I'd like some fresh air," came the drawled reply. "Won't you keep me companies?" It wasn't like her to mess up her grammar tenses, but he remained silent as she continued to dragg him along.

The night had started simply enough, with everyone having a good time at the dance and Pyrrha going along with whatever moves he felt like pulling off. Being six foot and one inch tall and thus taller than most of the other students, he'd been able to visually keep track of most of his friend's actions; Weiss remained sitting at the table, Yang bounced from section to section on the dance floor with style, Sun chat Blake up as they grooved along, and Ren was more or less acting as Nora's bowling ball.

Once Pyrrha decided to take a break from dancing, Yang made her way over to him and he proceeded to put his foot in his mouth as he said the first words that came to his mind and told her that she looked amazing. He had meant them honestly, of course, but that did nothing to mitigate the awkwardness that stifled the rest of their dance, and he could only sigh as Yang took the end of the song as a chance to book it. He only hoped that his fellow blonde didn't begin to avoid him for his unfiltered sentence.

Weiss had been the follow-up act and, thankfully, Jaune managed to not ruin the pleasant atmosphere they had going. He wasn't sure how long he would be dancing with his former crush, but there was a pang of disappointment present when Pyrrha returned and claimed her spot as his dance partner before the first song even ended. Still, he had come as an escort-slash-date, so it only made sense for Weiss to bow out when she was asked to.

That was when his night went from simple and fun to strange, because Pyrrha had gone from dancing with him to leaning on him for support; or, at least that's what he told himself, because if he didn't rationalize as such he wouldn't be able to explain her behavior. Several times he felt her lean in a little too close for his sanity, and each time she did her buxom would press heartily into his chest. The latest instance was a clear stumble from a lack of balance, so he asked her if she needed another break since she was clearly tired.

Those words mysteriously caused her gaze to sharpen, thus instigating their mysterious voyage through the crowd of people and upstairs. After a moment of silence between them, they reached a balcony that gave a good view of the broken moon above their heads; still, Pyrrha refused to let his arm go, so they wound up leaning on the railing and staring into the night sky. Her head quickly found a home on his shoulder as she pulled him close, so he ignored the plentiful presence that was threatening to engulf his arm. "Are you sure that this is all you need, Pyrrha?"

Her emerald eyes tilted upwards to meet his cerulean, a rather dreamy expression on her face. "This is wha' I wanted. I can stay here, righ'?"

 _'Is she slurring? She must be absolutely exhausted, then.'_ He brought his free hand up and held it to her forehead. _'I don't think she has a fever, but it's kinda hard to tell like this.'_

Before he could conduct any further tests, Pyrrha asked another question. This one was spoken a little slower and softer, but with a clearer attempt at getting her words out properly. "Jaune, do you... like spending time with me?"

"Of course I do, Pyrrha. Why wouldn't I?" That made her positively beam.

"Good." She shifted her head so that the hand he was holding to it came down her lips and, without any further warning, gave his palm a firm and deliberate kiss. The sudden act sent a shock running up his spine, and it was only through sheer force of will that he didn't jump from his spot and accidentally send her sprawling onto the floor. "P-Pyrrha!? What are you doing!?"

She didn't answer directly, instead choosing to let his affected hand fall to the side as she turned his body to face her and delicately place her left hand on his cheek. When Pyrrha finally spoke, the only thing to escape her lips was his name. " _Jaune~_ "

It was spoken so slowly, so _sensually_ , that Jaune was surprised that he didn't melt into a puddle on the spot. His mind couldn't comprehend the rapid development, and was thus paralyzed as her hands reached to clasp together behind his head.

"Jeez, I finally found you two!" Yang's voice snapped him out of his stupor, and he turned to see his blonde rescuer crossing the threshold into the outside air. "Do you know what it was like looking for you in a crowd of teenagers that have been drinking?"

Pyrrha's hands dropped to his arms and her smile disappeared, but Jaune paid her little attention as he listened to Yang. "Drinking? People were dumb enough to bring alcohol to Beacon?"

Yang shook her head once. "One person did, and they managed to spike the punch bowl that everybody's been drinking from. Pyrrha here had almost two full cups, and when I smelled what was left I could tell that it was crazy strong."

An alarm went off in his mind, and he snapped to look at the athlete that was still latched onto him. "Pyrrha, please let me smell your breath."

"Okay~" Her smile returned a little as she opened her mouth wide and let out a prolonged breath of air near his face. The scent of the alcohol was immediately overwhelming, and he would've reeled backwards had Pyrrha relaxed her grip at all. "Do I smell good?"

It was Jaune's turn to not answer, as he was too preoccupied with stemming his building anger. How could somebody spike the drink with something this powerful and not feel bad about themselves!? People were going to get hurt if they tried to drive after drinking it! That raised another point of concern to him, and he spoke to Yang once more. "How are the others?"

"Weiss and I are clear, Blake and Sun weren't acting weird when I saw them, and Nora threw her cup away after I told her what was up. Before I came out here I saw Port hiding the punch and Oobleck going around the room, probably checking all of the cups."

"Good... good." At least his friends would be okay, and they'd be alert for any additional foul play for the rest of the night. "Listen, I've got to take Pyrrha home and get her to rest."

Pyrrha herself perked up at this. "Home. Yesh, home is- Good idea."

Yang looked at their drunk friend with what could only have been regret. "I feel like I could've prevented this, or at least stopped it from getting this bad."

Jaune shook his head. "This isn't your fault, the person who did this is to blame. If I don't come back to the dance tonight, can you have Ren drive Weiss home?"

A nod. "We'll either drive her to your house, or she'll crash at my place. You focus on Pyrrha for tonight."

"Will do. Come on, Pyrrha. Let's go grab your handbag and get you home."

"Okay!" She leaned on him for support once more, so he shifted her weight to allow for easier movement. As Yang detailed, there were a fair number of students that didn't seem to be "all there". Fortunately, there was a clear route along the wall that led to their table, and within a couple of minutes Pyrrha was situated in the truck and Jaune had begun driving to her home.

Pyrrha seemed plenty happy to be riding with him, as she began humming some off-key tunes to herself and sneaking glances at him while he focused entirely on driving. He was thankful that he wasn't impaired, as it helped him stay attentive all the way to their destination. Before too long, he parked the truck along the road and went to the passenger side to help her down. "Hey, Pyrrha?"

With his help, her heels landed gently on the pavement. There was now a slight redness to her face, which led him to believe that the alcohol was in full swing. "Hmmm?"

"I don't see any other cars. Weren't your parents supposed to be home by now?"

Slowly, but surely, they began making their way to the front door. "Ooh, right. They told me that they were staying at the office for the night; so, it's only youuuu and me here!"

"Oh." He didn't really have a response to that, though in his head he wondered why sober Pyrrha told him that they'd be back that night. Upon reaching the front door, he fiddled with her keyring until he found what seemed to be a house key and was rewarded with the door unlocking. Pushing it open with his foot, he brought her weight back onto himself and walked her inside, fumbling a little in the darkness until he found a light switch.

He was both surprised and not surprised that the first thing to catch his eye was a massive display case with all manner of trophies and plaques inside of it. Years worth of athletic achievement combined into one showing of how amazing his friend was. Quickly remembering why he was there, he looked at Pyrrha and asked, "Where do you want to lie down?"

"...Bedroom." Her voice was quiet, but clear enough to be heard. She pointed in the general direction of her room, so together they walked further inside. As they made their way, Pyrrha began to ramble. "Hey, Jaune? Do you know what I like soo much about you?"

"What's that, Pyrrha?"

"You never expe- esps- wanted anything from me besides being my friend. My mom, dad, teachers... They all want me to be some big name someday. A star." She looked up at him, her eyes a little bleary. He couldn't quite figure out why. "But not you. You were the only boy that stayed, and even when I moved away you sent letters. My friend... Jaune~"

Jaune smiled a little. He hated her current condition, of course, but there wasn't a person in the world that would be upset at such genuine appreciation. "You're my friend, too, and probably the coolest girl I know."

"Cool? What about... pretty?"

Mental warning bells began sounding at full blast. _'It's the alcohol, Jaune. Just stay calm.'_ "You're very pretty, Pyrrha."

"Yaay!" Just as he managed to find her room, she latched onto him harder in sheer happiness. Struggling against the added pressure, he somehow managed to get her to sit on her bed. Once she finally released his arm, he went to the kitchen in order to get her some water.

Finding the cups took him longer than he'd like to admit, but before too long he handed a tall glass with ice in it to Pyrrha. She gulped half of it down before setting the cup on her nightstand. "Thank you~"

She was still buzzed, obviously, but at least she was safe and a little more hydrated. "How do you feel, Pyrrha?"

"Good." She pat the bed close to her. "Sit down, Jaune. Relax."

"If you say so." He obeyed, making sure to keep a little distance from her. Pyrrha wasn't having any of that, though, and as soon as his rear touched the fabric she latched onto him once more. "P-Pyrrha, you're a little close."

"Uh-huh!" She began to nuzzle against his shoulder, just like on the balcony. "Hey, Jaune?"

"Yes, Pyrrha?"

Nuzzle, nuzzle. "You mean so much to me."

"Thank you. You mean a lot to me, too."

"Jaune?"

"Yes?"

Nuzzle, Nuzzle. "I love you."

He began breathing hard, and he forced himself to keep them slow and deep. "You should lie down, Pyrrha. You're still feeling the alcohol."

The nuzzling stopped, and Pyrrha's emerald eyes slowly rose to look at him. They were bleary again. "Jaune? How do you feel about me?"

"Pyrrha, please go to sleep. We can talk in the morning, okay?"

That was the wrong answer it seemed, because she began to tighten her grip on his hand and arm. He couldn't tell if she was about to cry, rage, or both. "Jaune, th-this isn't the drink talking. I...I like you as a girl to a boy, okay? So, please, tell me how you feel about me."

Should he start to pull away more firmly? Would he accidentally injure her if he did? "I think that you're a great girl, Pyrrha, and that any guy would feel blessed being your boyfriend or husband."

"...Any guy but you?" It was right then that Jaune could see how serious Pyrrha was about this. For whatever reason, she saw him in a romantic light and was asking for him to reciprocate in kind. Silence reigned for a minute, and he spent that time searching his heart for some kind of glimmer. A spark. Anything that he could grab onto so that he could happily take her hands and return her feelings tenfold.

He found no such thing, and he felt shame pool in his stomach as he looked away from her. His inability to meet her gaze spoke volumes, leading her to finally loosen her grip on him; and a few seconds later, he heard a distinct sniffle. "Pyr-"

 _Bzzt Bzzt!_ His phone buzzed in his pocket, indicating a new text message. Sensing no effort from Pyrrha to move, he extracted the device in order to read it.

 _Yang: How is she holding up? Is everything okay?_

"...Out." Pyrrha's single word stopped the blood in his veins. It wasn't loud or angry, just... empty. "Please leave, Jaune..."

"Pyrrha..." She gave him a push off of the bed, and he knew beyond a doubt that he was no longer welcome. Nodding despite the fact that she wasn't even looking at him, he departed from the Nikos home, trying to ignore the sounds of her crying as he closed the door.

Jaune felt like an asshole. He _was_ one, as far as he was concerned, but that didn't change how he saw her in his heart of hearts. She was... just a friend. A very caring friend, but that's as far as it went for him. As he sat in the driver's seat of the truck, all he could do was hold his face in his hands and lament the friendship that he had just lit aflame.

 _Bzzt Bzzt!_

 _Yang: Weiss staying with me for tonight. What's your status?_

Despite his shaking fingers, he somehow managed to reply to her.

 _Jaune: Pyrrha is safe in her house. I'm about to head home._

He sent the text, but quickly realized that there was one thing he'd neglected to say.

 _Jaune: She confessed to me, but I_ _couldn't accept her feelings. Things have gone all wrong._

He started the truck and put on his seatbelt, but right before he pulled out of his parking spot another text arrived.

 _Yang: I'm sorry. See you tomorrow when I drop Weiss off._

- **The next day** -

Jaune sat on his front porch, guitar absent completely as he awaited the arrival of both girls. His sisters naturally detected his negative mood when they awoke that morning, so he gave them the shorthand version of turning Pyrrha down, omitting the info about the alcohol as unnecessary. To their credit, they all understood that they were ill-prepared to help him in any meaningful way; so they all waited for Vermilion inside, as the oldest Arc child would be giving Olive a job interview that morning.

It was nearing ten A.M. when he heard the roaring of a motorcycle engine, and when he looked up he saw two girlish figures arrive on a bright, yellow bike and park on the street. Weiss immediately removed the helmet from her head, and while Jaune couldn't hear everything she said, he could make out the words "crazy" and "yield" as the Schnee berated Yang for her apparent lack of caution. While the driver was wearing a brown jacket with jeans, the smaller girl was only wearing sweat pants and a black t-shirt with a red wolf on it. As the duo approached the front steps, Jaune greeted them by waving once and saying, "Hey there, you two. Aren't you cold in that outfit, Weiss?"

She rubbed her arms a little in an attempt to keep warm. "This was my first time riding a motorcycle, so I wasn't aware of how harsh the wind would be on my skin. If you don't mind, I'm going to get changed in the guest bedroom and warm up a little."

He answered with a nod, leaving him alone with Yang as the blonde took a seat next to him on the steps. "Thanks again for being her ride, Yang."

"No problem, just don't trust anything she says about me speeding." She rubbed her hands together awkwardly as her speech paused. "Can I... ask what happened after you left?"

Jaune sighed as he began to narrate the previous night's order of events. "Her parents weren't home when we got there, so I took her inside and set her down in the bedroom. Pyrrha started rambling a little about why she likes me, but I just took it as 'alcohol speech' and ignored what she actually meant until she straight up asked me how I felt about her."

"Well... what did you tell her?"

"Nothing." Yang tilted her head in confusion, so he elaborated. "I couldn't tell her anything, because before last night I hadn't even thought about her like that. I... I had no clue that she _liked_ me, and suddenly being confronted on it made me freeze even more."

Yang sighed next. It sounded a little like frustration, but maybe he was reading it wrong. "Is there something wrong with Pyrrha? A particular reason you aren't attracted to her? I mean, I get not wanting to take advantage of a drunk girl, but her feelings for you aren't a sudden thing."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Wait, you knew about this?"

"To be blunt, Jaune, almost all of Beacon knew about it."

"Great, now I feel even worse for not realizing it." He brought his hand to his face in agitation. Why was he the last person to know about this? "There's nothing wrong with Pyrrha. She's stunningly beautiful, caring, dedicated to everything she puts her mind to... I just never felt attracted in a romantic sense. It's as complicated and as simple as that."

"I see." Yang didn't say anything more, even when Weiss returned and stood next to her. The former heiress was now wearing the business outfit that Jaune originally found her in, minus the replaced shoes. He wasn't sure if they were staying quiet by choice or for a lack of anything to say, but Jaune found that he appreciated the supporting silence from them. Maybe it was because he could tell from their faces that they weren't judging him for what happened.

As the fifth minute of silence passed, his phone buzzed out a notification.

 _Pyrrha: Can we talk in person?_

A part of him was surprised that she would contact him so soon, but he wasn't about to shut her out twice in as many days.

 _Jaune: Yes, where would you like to meet?_

 _Pyrrha: Where we first met._

 _'We first met...'_ The destination was clear, of course. Putting his phone away, Jaune stood up and stepped down from the porch. "If you two don't mind, I think I'm gonna go for a walk."

They both nodded their heads, but Weiss was the first to speak up. "We'll likely be gone upon your return. I've asked Yang to help me with a few errands today."

"Thanks for the heads up. See you later tonight, then?"

"Of course." Despite her smile, there was a sad sparkle in her crystalline eyes. "Be safe on your walk, Jaune."

"I will. You two keep it slow on that bike, okay?"

"Hey!" Yang's indignant huff had no real heat to it, and Jaune chuckled as he zipped his jacket all the way up and began to walk. It was but a brief moment of levity, however it still served to settle his nerves just the slightest amount. Truly, he was glad to have these two in his life.

The park was beyond the far end of his neighborhood, a good ten minutes away at a walking pace. As a kid, his parents would demand that either Vermilion or Apricot be there for his safety, and it was the latter that had been present when he first met Pyrrha. It had been the start of a wonderful friendship...

He just prayed that the friendship wouldn't end there, as well.

It wasn't a windy day, but he still felt the nip of the coming winter as he crossed the threshold of the park. There weren't any children there, but he did see a somebody wearing a grey hoodie sitting on one of the swings. His eyes scanned the nearby parking lot and found Pyrrha's mustang. How long had she been here?

Pyrrha had her hair tucked into her hoodie, her eyes gazing mournfully at the rest of the park. It was easy to see that she hadn't slept well. She didn't respond to his approach, so he chose to sit in the swing beside hers and wait for her to speak first. Looking out on the grounds, Jaune could almost see miniature versions of themselves playing on the numerous available fixtures as he ran through mental records of a time long past.

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Amongst all of the words he expected to hear from her, those were among the last. "For what?"

"For taking care of me." Her tone was a forced neutral. "With the punch being spiked, I could've found myself in a bad situation; so, thank you for being responsible."

"Ah. Well, what are friends for?" He blinked at his own word choice. "I mean-"

She cut him off by shaking her head. "I know what you mean... Jaune, do you remember when we met?"

"How could I forget? Here came a girl with bright, red hair, jumping further off of the swing than anybody I'd ever met. That kind of first impression sticks out to a person."

Pyrrha cracked a small, mysterious smile. "I've always aimed to be the best in everything I do; not so that I could be better than others, but to prove to myself that I could. Sadly, having that kind of drive tends to scare people away. Do you know what my first thoughts of you were, Jaune?"

"What were they?"

"That you were warm. No matter what I did, or how well I did it, you were always happy for my sake. You didn't shun me like the other kids our age, and you didn't tell me to 'do even better next time' like the adults." She took a deep breath. "When my parents moved us to Mistral, I was so scared that you would be different by the next time I saw you. You'd have expectations, and keep me at arm's length because of my accolades."

"I'd never do that, Pyrrha." The thought was foreign to him, really. "You were an inspiration for me, a flag that encouraged me to do my best, so why wouldn't I try to be your friend again?"

She chuckled. "I know that now. It made me so happy, seeing you pick up your half of our friendship as if I'd never left. That warmth you gave me grew so much that I... I couldn't help but to fall in love with you."

There it was; her heart, laid bare for him to witness. Her feelings were honest and simple, so it was only right that he return the gesture. "Pyrrha, you are one of the most wonderful people I know. From how hard you work at improving, to how motherly you act to all of your friends. When we come to you with a problem, you listen as if we're the only thing that matters and that- it just means the world to me, you being my friend."

But-

"I've never... looked at you like you look at me. You're absolutely beautiful, of course, I just... never felt a connection. I hadn't even thought about it until last night, and I think you saw that a little when I couldn't answer you." Was he going in circles and repeating himself? "What I'm trying to say is... Thank you. Thank you for loving me, but I can't return your feelings; lying about that would only hurt both of us even more in the end."

He could hear the door being shut, and it was him doing the closing. Or would it be more appropriate to say that he just burned the bridge? It was hard to say.

Pyrrha simply nodded, and it was clear to him that she had shed her tears the night before. "Thank you for being honest, but... I must confess that I'm not sure where that leaves us. I'm still so unused to how romance works beyond the movies."

If the bridge had been burned down, then he would at least reach a hand across the river. "I'm not an expert, either, but... I think we can start by saying hello whenever we see each other, because I still want to be your friend, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha looked at him for the first time that entire conversation, her expression revealing some surprise before it shifted into her familiar, warm smile, albeit a tiny one. "That would be nice."

That was the last thing spoken between them that day. At some point Pyrrha wordlessly vacated her swing, and a minute later he did the same. The walk home was just as cold as the walk there had been; yet, somehow, it didn't bother him as much.

Jaune Arc wasn't stupid. The sense of "normal" that they had come to know had been destroyed, both by his hand and hers. But even if they became strangers in the future, that was okay; because, as his mother always told him, strangers were just friends you hadn't met yet.

X

 **Thus ends "Act One: One Missed Call." This story is far from over, and I hope that you look forward to the next chapter/Arc of this story.**

 **Coming up: More characters! More quips! More sexual tension! More drama!**

 **Please leave a review or send me a PM, because I would love to hear what you think of the story so far; and no matter what, I hope you have a nice day!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Welcome back! This Act will see some new perspectives and characters, so please look forward to it.**

 **Also, happy new year! Let's have a great one together.**

X

- **Weiss** -

Together with Yang Xiao Long, Weiss Schnee watched Jaune Arc disappear around the street corner. The boy had stated that he was simply going on a walk, but there was no doubt in her mind, and likely Yang's as well, that he was going to speak with Pyrrha. The two left behind didn't discuss this with each other, as there was no need to; Jaune would do what he thought was right. He always would.

Once he was gone, Weiss stepped away from the railing and sighed. "I suppose that's our cue to be on our way."

"Probably," agreed Yang solemnly as she rose from her seat on the stairs. "Do you have everything you need? I really don't wanna have to double-back because you forgot something."

"Just a moment." She re-entered the house and retrieved her handbag, which contained her ID, credit cards, some writing tools, and her phone. As Weiss set the bag over her shoulder, she glimpsed at the desk-mirror and took in her own appearance. The last time she wore this business wear, she'd been left a physical and emotional wreck by her father, Jacques; this time, she was determined to walk away with her head held high, regardless of what answers her questions received or how her supposed family treated her.

As she began to walk towards the entryway, Sapphire happened to catch her eye from her seat on the sofa and gestured for her to wait. Giving a nod towards Olive, who was quite clearly nervous about the job interview she would be undergoing that morning, Sapphire stood up and made her way over to Weiss. "Are you planning on coming back, Weiss?"

"It would depend on how things proceed today. If my father can offer a satisfactory explanation for his actions and assure me that it won't happen again, I will probably return to the Schnee estate for good; however, it is far more likely that he and I will be unable to come to a mutual understanding. If that comes to pass..." She trailed off before shaking her head. Thanks to his self-serving nature, Jacques was in many ways unpredictable yet _very_ predictable. "No, _when_ that comes to pass, I'm afraid that I'll have no choice but to find a new, permanent residence."

"Your dad sounds like quite the character," Sapphire grumbled with a frown. That frown quickly flipped into a soft smile as the Arc spread her arms out a little, clearly in preparation of a hug. "Just remember that you have a home here, Weiss. If you need us, just knock on that front door."

She couldn't help but return the smile and walk into the hug, returning the gesture with equal force. "I know, Sapphire; you all have been so wonderful to me. Thank you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" They stayed like that for just a brief moment before separating, but the warmth remained within Weiss just the same. In just the span of a few days the list of individuals she considered her true family, Klein and Winter, had somehow expanded to include the entire Arc family. Maybe they just had that effect on people. "Now go on! Yell and scream at your dad a bit, then come back to congratulate Olive on her new job."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan; I think I'll do just that." She couldn't help but laugh as she walked out the front door. Yang raised an eyebrow at her sudden, jovial attitude, but Weiss just waved her off and put on the bike helmet for the trip. As she situated herself behind the blonde driver, she made a mental note to grab a pair of long pants for the return trip, as the wind would likely be hell on her legs due to the business skirt.

And once they hit the road going full speed, she immediately determined that to be correct.

Having been informed of what was to transpire that day, Klein was waiting for them at the main entrance of the estate. Once the motorcycle was safely parked and Yang given some treats in the dining room to pass the time with, Weiss and Klein made the oh-so-short trip to her father's office. How many times had she walked this very path? How often had she received orders from her father and blindly gone along with them, keeping her worries and frustrations bottled inside until she nearly imploded from the pressure? How much longer would she allow herself to be controlled by a man that saw only a legacy of his own to maintain?

Too many.

Too often.

And never again.

When they reached his office door, neither felt any rush to knock on it; instead, Klein turned to Weiss and said, "Is there anything I can do to help, Miss Schnee?"

She reached her left hand out and gently grabbed his right. "Klein, you've been doing it my whole life by making this place into something I could call home. After Winter left, you were the only resident that helped me feel sane at times. So, no matter what happens, know that you've made my life bearable here."

"Oh, my little snowflake." They embraced, an action that belied their many years of familial love for each other. They needed no further words, and when they separated at last Klein gave her one final smile before leaving to attend to Yang. Weiss pulled out a notepad from her bag and glanced at the brief list of questions she'd written for herself, although it was for all intents and purposes an unnecessary act; she had long memorized everything that she wanted out of this meeting.

The potential ramifications of her actions were not lost on her. Not only would she likely be alienating herself from the Schnee estate, she also still planned on divulging the unfortunate truths surrounding her actions to Jaune; meaning, by the end of the day, it was entirely possible that she would be in search of a new home. Fortunately, she at least had a way to ensure that she wasn't completely destitute; however, the method involved made her a little too similar to her father for her liking.

Taking a deep breath, she gave the door three firm knocks. "Enter," came the frigid response, so she did. Jacques Schnee sat behind his desk as usual, his hands clasped together in front of his face as he regarded her with ice in his eyes. "So, you've finally returned home, Weiss. I hope you're prepared to explain yourself, young lady."

She met his gaze without backing down an inch. "The same could be said of you, Father."

His eyes hardened even further. "Excuse you?"

"You heard me perfectly well, _Father._ " How little that word actually meant now. "I've run the scenario through my mind time and time again, and I must confess that I'm _baffled_ that you believed that I would simply go along with your scheme to manipulate the White Fang's impression of you. Did you not think for a moment that I would react negatively, especially when I had no prior knowledge of what you'd told them of my supposed intentions?"

"I _believed_ that you were more intelligent than you've proven yourself to be, young lady; because if you were, then you would have understood that any financial support I would be giving you in the future relied on your cooperation. Sienna Khan wields immeasurable influence over the other animals out there, and your little stunt has put the company in a bad light."

" _My_ little stunt? I do believe that this entire event is your own doing, Jacques." His eyes widened at the flippant use of his name, but he didn't comment on it. The time for pretending they were a family had passed. Weiss took a moment to loudly sigh. "It's almost funny. I had a laundry list of questions to ask you, but now I don't even feel like running through them. To do so would be a waste of time for both of us."

"I'm inclined to agree." He finally moved his hands from in front of his face as he leaned back into his chair. "Consider yourself grounded-"

"That won't be necessary," she interjected. "I'll be moving out within the week."

"Oh?" This seemed to intrigue him. "And just where do you plan on going, little girl?"

She was not about to give him a target to take his frustrations out on. "Does it even matter to you? You were never planning on letting me take over the company, so I see no need to give you unnecessary information. All you need to know is that I'll have all of my belongings out soon enough."

Jacques scoffed. "And what about money? I certainly hope you don't think that I'll fund a little runaway."

Weiss then did something he likely never expected: she smiled, ever so sweetly. "Actually, I think you will. Because I know that the number one thing you're afraid of is a scandal, and I have _plenty_ of ammunition."

He frowned, but quickly returned his face to stone. "I highly doubt that."

"Truly?" Oh, she was going to enjoy this part. "Do remember that whatever your intentions were for me, I was still brought up as the heiress to the Schnee Electric Company. I understand every trick that you've done to circumvent federal and international regulations, and I know exactly who to report each transgression to. General James Ironwood would so love to hear about the insider trading that occurred just before you announced the company's move from Atlas to Vale."

In shock, Jacques Schnee quickly rose from his chair, but she continued speaking despite his clear intent to cut her off. "And none of that takes into account that I am friends with the daughter of Ghira Belladonna, who witnessed your snake-like ways with his own eyes. Imagine the damage that could be done if he cooperated with me to smear your oh-so-good name."

His anger began to visibly boil, and he was no longer making attempts to hide it. "If you think that I'll allow you to blackmail me for the rest of my life, then you're sorely mistaken. I will personally squash any of your attempts to destroy my company!"

"You will try, but no armor can protect you from the metaphorical armory I have at my disposal." This was the crucial moment; she really had to sell this next point. "To make both of our lives easier, how about we cut a formal deal?"

Jacques remained standing, but settled himself down just enough to hear her out. "Explain."

"You need a way to legally ensure my silence, and I need the funds required to live in this world. What I propose is that you and your admittedly vast legal team draw up a contract. My terms are that I receive a lump sum payment equal to five years of one of your executive officers wages; in exchange, I'll sign a non-disclosure agreement that will prevent me from releasing any information that relates to the SEC as it was at any point before my 'retirement.'"

She paused just a moment to allow her words to sink in. "For good measure, you can add a clause that says that I officially forfeit any and all succession rights to company. Whitley will be the true-and-proper heir with no additional fuss from me."

Jacques sat back down and wordlessly began typing into his computer, no doubt doing a quick review of the SEC's employee salaries to figure out how to minimize the damage she would make in the budget. He didn't want to take the deal, as few sane men would, but the fact of the matter was that she could potentially bankrupt him with what she knew; even in the best case scenario, he'd be tied up in court for years dealing with what she would release to the public. She had him at gunpoint, but they would both have an easier time if he played along.

After many minutes of him silently reading through documents, he closed out of his pages and turned back to her. "Two years worth of pay. Your belongings are out by next Sunday, and you're out _tonight_."

"Three years. I'll have counsel of my own review the contract you e-mail me."

"You'll change your last name."

Her nails began to dig into her palm as her hand turned into a light fist. "Denied. You're the one the married into the company and changed your name to Schnee. I'm more of a Schnee than you are, Jacques."

He glared at her; she glared right back. "Fine, the paperwork for that would likely be more effort than it's worth. You'll have the contract in your inbox within a couple of days, so _get the hell out of my house._ "

It was done; Jacques was pitiful snake of a man, but he wasn't stupid enough to risk her spilling company secrets. With the verbal pact sealed, Weiss spun on her heel as she obeyed his final directive. The hallway was devoid of people besides herself, leaving her time aplenty to wade through her own thoughts.

She, Weiss Schnee, just willingly cast away all of the significance attached to her last name. As she passed a portrait of her long-deceased grandfather, she paused long enough to bow her head. A sense of guilt pervaded her psyche, insisting that she had failed to uphold a great man's legacy. Weiss tried to wave it away; she had done one of the few things available to her in order to survive, physically and emotionally.

One day in the future, she might start her own business to try and honor her namesake. Maybe then her ancestor would be proud, because she had no desire to let his name turn to dust.

Stopping by her now-former bedroom to don a pair of dress pants, she quickly made her way to the dining room, where Yang and Klein were waiting for the news. Weiss greeted them smiling, if only to settle any unease they felt as she detailed her official withdrawal from the Schnee estate. Klein was both sad and happy for the change of state, saying that he was proud of her for managing to look out for herself, even if it meant that they could no longer meet on a regular basis.

Yang seemed proud, oddly enough, smiling as she gave Weiss a hearty pat on the shoulder. She didn't say a word (making it doubly odd) but Weiss appreciated the sentiment just the same.

Of course, Yang was also likely waiting for the true test to occur. It was just approaching lunchtime now, meaning that Weiss would have just enough time to talk to Jaune before he went into work. May the gods grant them all strength...

\--

He was bored; so very, _very_ bored.

Sharp, yellow eyes pierced the ceiling of his cell as he tried to will his boredom away. How many times had he counted the exact number of miniscule indentations in the paint? By the Goddess, he wished they hadn't transferred him from his previous cell block. Just because he liked to know the other inmates, the guards accused him of deliberately trying their patience and had him moved from his favorite neighbors.

He felt an itch on his tail bone, as was the norm with his unique shackles these days. He tried to ignore it, knowing that scratching it would do little to alleviate his real issue.

 _Bzzzzt!_

The doors to every cell in his block opened simultaneously, beckoning them to go to lunch. As he left the confines of his "home", armed guards eyed the line of inmates with all due caution. As the lunch line shuffled awkwardly to the cafeteria, the man deliberately, albeit very cautiously, had the other inmates pass him by so he could meet up with one of his new favorite neighbors. That darling head of red haired belied the young boy's very temperamental nature, and the man couldn't help but feel hope that something... _interesting_ would be happening soon.

After all, four years of monotony was quite too long for him to accept peacefully.

Breaching the threshold of the cafeteria as he reached his intended place in line, the man did his best to restrain a giggle. "Why, hello there, Adam! Have you considered my little proposal?"

Adam Taurus (such a fitting name for a bull!) snorted, but didn't refute the question. "You better have a plan for this. Remember: once we're free, you're helping me find my darling first."

"But of course! That was the deal, after all." How _lovely!_ Things would **definitely** be getting interesting soon. "I may be an... eccentric man, Taurus, but I keep my word. Your kitten shall see the results of her betrayal."

"Good." Adam stayed silent for a moment due to an passing guard. Once the nameless goon passed, Taurus leaned his head back towards him. "You never told me who it was that you'll be meeting with when we rightfully depart."

"I didn't? How strange of me. It is the family of police officer-"

Beat. "Well, _former_ officer Nicholas Arc."

X

 **But who is it!?**

 **I hope you enjoyed it. Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day/night!**

 **Spoilers for Volume 5 below. Continue at your own risk.**

 **No, really.**

Readers of my story "Jaune, the Charismatic Gamer" might recall that I gave Jaune the 'cure' spell instead of the many other skills he might have gotten from the Final Fantasy series. The response to this was _generally_ positive, but I also received a decent amount of flak for it.

Well, as of the end of Episode eleven in Volume five, Weiss has been impaled with extreme prejudice by our lady and savior Cinder Fall. I am **extremely** doubtful that they would kill a title character at this point in the series, so consider this right here as my official "called it":

Jaune's Semblance will, somehow, wind up healing Weiss. If/when that happens, I am going to laugh. And laugh. And _laugh._

And if it doesn't happen, well, you can all hold it over me for years to come. Maybe come up with some type of shame fic for me to write lol.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** **No jokes today, sorry. I hope you enjoy it!**

X

- **Yang** -

The trip back to Jaune's house was uneventful, save for Weiss nearly squeezing the life out of her on a turn that was taken too tightly. Yang would freely admit to being impressed by Weiss standing up to her father (and, apparently, managing to blackmail him in the process), but that was irrelevant to what they were on their way to do. Weiss had a promise to keep, and she was going to make sure it was kept.

As she pulled Bumblebee next to the curb and killed the engine, she surveyed the parked cars and noted that Vermilion's car, a blue mini-cooper, was nowhere to be seen. Had the restaurant owner not shown up, or had she already departed for her job? Likely the latter, she determined. Removing her helmet, she turned to her passenger and asked, "Before we go in there, Weiss, I gotta ask: do you want me to hang close by for support, or just stay within earshot of you?"

The former heiress sighed as she extracted her own head. "Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that you're there to support Jaune, all things considered?"

"True," she admitted. "But the question still stands."

Weiss paused to think about it. "It... might be better for you to be at the scene in order to avoid giving Jaune any misconceptions about what you are or aren't aware of. You were the one to stood up for him behind the scenes, so to speak, so it would be good for him to know that."

Would it, though? She couldn't say for sure, actually; still, Weiss was correct in her belief that they should avoid any additional misunderstandings. "We'll see how it goes, then. Let's find out how Olive's job interview went, shall we?"

They approached the house without another word between them, but Yang made sure to refresh her usual grin as she knocked on the front door. When Lavender answered, it was clear that she was in a good mood. "Welcome back, you two. Get your errands done already?"

"Indeed we did," answered Weiss with a sisterly smile. Yang was hardly surprised to see that it seemed completely genuine; the Arc family had a tendency to bring that out in people, after all. Weiss continued talking as they entered the house. "Any good news for Olive?"

"Yep yep! She's got the job, not that there was much doubt, although Vermilion and Jaune did haze her a little."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"They kept bugging her about silly things, asking stupid questions like 'do you know what it means to rotate the ice in the ice machine' and looking completely serious while they're doing it." Lavender shrugged. "Apparently, Vermilion wanted to test how Olive acted when she got flustered."

Jaune's voice piped up as they entered the living room. "Olive was pretty funny about when we described the fake rotating thing, too. 'Wouldn't that take like half an hour to do!?' But my dear little sister did oka-"

Olive jabbed him just below his left shoulder. "I swear to the gods I will get you back for that. Count on it."

"You _just_ punched me in the arm..."

"Anyways." She ignored her brother's pained grunt. "I'll probably be starting in a week or two, depending on how Sis can arrange the schedule. It was decided that Jaune and I will work the same days to avoid any transportation problems."

"Good deal. Congrats." Yang held up a hand that Olive was quick to high-five. "Kitchen or Server?"

"Kitchen to start, I'll probably move up to server when I turn sixteen." A sly grin slid onto her face. "Maybe one day I'll even take it over and rename it after myself."

"You'd bump your sister out of her own business just to see the name 'Olive Garden' on a sign? That's pretty devious of you." In the corner of her vision, Yang saw Weiss lean down to whisper something in Jaune's ear. He nodded without saying a word, pointing a finger upstairs as he stood up and made his way to the staircase, Weiss following close behind. Yang turned back to Olive and said, "I'm gonna talk to Jaune for a minute, Olive, but I'll be back down so we can lament your last week as an member of the non-workforce together."

"Hmm?" Olive glanced at the departing backs of Jaune and Weiss. If the Arc made any deductions about the scenario, she kept them to herself. "Sure, see you when you come back down. Maybe we can plan a 'working woman' party or something silly like that. Have fun."

"Copy that." She departed with a friendly wave and quickly caught up to the retreating pair. When she fell into step behind Weiss, causing Jaune to send her a questioning glance, she explained, "I know what's on the ice queen's mind."

"Ah." He nodded and opened the door to his bedroom. Taking a seat on his own bed, he asked, "So, out of curiosity, what errand did you have to run this morning, Weiss?"

"I had to speak to my father about what happened on Wednesday. We came to an... agreement, of sorts." Weiss shuffled her feet, making her nervousness readily apparent. Jaune, no doubt sensing the atmosphere, remained silent so that she could continue at her leisure. "I have to find a new permanent residence, as I am moving out of the Schnee estate."

He was more than a little surprised, but he quickly recovered and softly said, "Wow, that's... I'm sorry to hear that. Don't worry, though; you can stay here as long as you need while you get your life sorted out."

Weiss shook her head. "Don't be sorry; it was for the best and I managed to make the most of the situation. And... thank you; however, that isn't what I needed to talk to you about."

"Oh. Well, what's up?"

"It's... I..." She let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Yang. Maybe I do need to tell him by myself."

 _'Nerves, huh? Guess I would have 'em, too.'_ "No problem. I'll be outside the door to make sure nobody listens in." She left without waiting for a response, gently closing the door behind her and leaning her back against it. Yang wasn't ungrateful for the sudden guard duty, as it gave her time to process some thoughts of her own.

Just a few nights prior, she had chosen the "Summer" route for herself and allowed Pyrrha a clear shot at Jaune's heart. However, thanks to some asshat with a liquor bottle, the redhead wound up missing that shot completely- well, it likely wasn't all the alcohols fault. In his own words, Jaune had admitted to not having any romantic feelings towards the redhead whatsoever. Even had Pyrrha not gotten unfortunately drunk, it was entirely possible that the end result would've been the same anyways.

 _"Well, you do look pretty amazing tonight."_

Yang felt her face flush at the memory of it. Sure, the atmosphere had been awkward after he said it, but at that time she'd been trying to hide her affection for him for Pyrrha's sake. His words, though... did he look at her not just as a friend, but as a woman as well?

Wasn't this her chance, then?

Her eyes roamed to the door as she moved away from it, a dozen questions running through her mind. Weiss said she wanted to be there for him if he allowed, but how would Jaune treat Weiss after today? Were the former heiress's intentions platonic or romantic?

And were they just not talking, or were the walls thick enough to block out sounds below shouting level? Yang placed her ear to the door and listened attentively. She could hear Jaune's voice, but it was muffled and quiet, giving credence to the thought of the walls being well-insulated.

Weiss responded, even quieter than Jaune.

Silence for a moment, then what sounded like a drawer opening and closing.

Jaune's voice, muffled but growing clearer this time. Was he closer to the door? "-just... not right now. I'll see you when I get back from work."

Alarmed, Yang quickly shifted to the left of the door and placed her back against the wall, doing her best to look as if she'd been that way the whole time. It wasn't a moment too soon, as Jaune walked out of his bedroom and shut the door behind him. He was carrying his work clothes in one arm while his empty hand was closed into a fist, and his upset eyes-

No, that was putting it mildly.

Jaune was _angry_.

- **Jaune** -

When Weiss had approached him and asked if they could talk privately, Jaune felt it natural to assume that she wanted to talk about her staying at the Arc home. Obviously he was fine with it, and his sisters got along with her pretty well.

Once Weiss was found with her words failing her and Yang was sent away, however, it dawned on him that something was very wrong. Weiss didn't say a word for a solid minute after Yang left the room, and he found himself standing to approach her. "Weiss, what's wrong? You can talk to me."

Weiss was practically boring holes into her own feet with her gaze. After some more silence from her he was about to speak again, but before he could Weiss suddenly gave him a full bow. "I'm so sorry!"

Needless to say he was baffled. "What in the world do you have to be sorry for?"

"I... Last Saturday, you were supposed to meet with the person you've been talking to on Beaconbook. But that person never showed up."

"Right, you heard me arguing about it with my sisters that first night. What about it?"

She looked up for the first time since Yang walked out, her crystalline eyes positively swimming with emotion as she was quite clearly holding back tears. "Crescent... It's me, Crystal."

Jaune could almost hear the gears in his mind freeze in place. Weiss was Crystal? Crystal was _here_? Thoughts of their many, many conversations began playing in his mind all at once. He remembered times where he confided in his dear friend just how rough it was being the male parent figure for his family. Times where he thought that he had somebody who really connected with him, despite their anonymity.

Weiss's visage began to superimpose itself as the face on the other side of the message boards. Crystal was bound by a legacy that was being corrupted right in front of her eyes... The SEC! Of course, what else could it be? She'd complained of feeling trapped, and they'd bonded over it.

A grin of sheer happiness began to spread, and had his brain and body not metaphorically been stopped in time Jaune would've ran up to her for an embrace. Weiss was Crystal! Crystal was _here_! _His_ Crystal was-

Wait.

His arms, almost raised for a hug, began to drop to his sides. "...Weiss, how long have you known about this? That I was Crescent, I mean."

"I found out..." She looked back down, unable to meet his gaze any longer. "...when I saw you sitting outside of the restaurant."

A spark was lit in the back of his mind as the gears began to turn. What was that spark? "You saw me?"

A drop fell from her face, and it hit him that Weiss was crying. "Yes..."

The spark began to smoke a little, for it had turned into embers. Jaune asked the only question he could think of. " _Why_?"

He knew that Weiss heard the true question. Why was he left alone, if she had actually _been_ there? Her tears were falling a little harder, but not so hard that she was sobbing. "I was dropped off by Klein that day, but when I saw you there I hid myself. I was so... so _convinced_ that you had only expressed interest for me last year because of my family name; so when I realized you were Crescent, I..."

She steeled herself by taking a deep breath. "I called Neptune and had him pick me up."

The embers became a visible flame; but, bizarrely, that heat turned to ice in his voice. "Neptune? _Really_ now. Why not just have Klein pick you up instead?"

Weiss still refused to look at him. "Because... Neptune had previously invited me to see a play. When I was panicking that day, he was the first person to cross my mind."

He started to pace back and forth on the floor. It wasn't much, but it was better to do that then what he _really_ felt like doing. "Wow. I guess it's good to know where I stand in your life."

She flinched even as her tears continued falling, and Jaune knew his words had struck a chord. He was speaking from hurt, obviously, but what the hell else could he do? Almost every aspect of... _whatever_ relationship he had with Weiss had just been unceremoniously flipped on its head. Some foreign part of him wanted to yell, to flip out and tear her apart.

Another mental cog fell into place, and he looked at his bedroom door as if he could see through it. "Yang knew about all of this."

lt was a statement, not a question. "Yes, but she's been looking out for you from the beginning. From easing my mind at the thought of meeting Crescent, to accosting me when I acted so horrendously out of line... She's been fighting for your sake this entire time."

Had she, now? He felt a swell of affection for his fellow blonde, but had to shove the feeling aside to deal with the here and now. He turned back to Weiss, whose tears had stopped falling but was still bowing her head, and gave an aggravated sigh.

He wouldn't act on his anger. Couldn't, really; because as much as he wanted to hate her right at that moment, the fact was that she was still Weiss, the person that he'd picked up cold and broken on the streets less then a week prior. She was still _Crystal_ , who until now had practically been his best friend. If he threw her out, he'd been abandoning every effort he had ever made for improving her life.

However, there were still things that needed to be spoken aloud.

Jaune walked over to the open closet and extracted his work clothes from their hangers, then he fished inside of his dresser for a small envelope. Finding what he was looking for, he shut it and stood just in front of Weiss. "Weiss, look at me."

She complied, flinching again as she saw his clenched jaw and the hurt in his eyes. Slowly, Jaune raised the hand that contained the envelope and held it between them. "Arc rule number one: an Arc always keeps their word. This is a spare house key for you to use, so don't lose it."

Almost timidly, Weiss accepted the envelope and opened the loose end of it; sure enough, a small key slid out and landed on her open palm. Eyes wide with surprise, she looked back into his eyes. "Jaune..."

"Weiss, this... this whole thing hurts, you know? Maybe some day I'll forgive you and we'll be able to put all of it behind us." Grabbing his work shoes and sliding them under his arm with the rest of the work clothes, he started walking to the door. "Just... not right now. I'll see you when I get back from work."

If she responded he didn't hear her, and as he closed the door behind himself his hand closed into a fist. What he wouldn't give to have a home-installed punching bag right now...

"Jaune."

Yang's voice broke him out of his stupor, and, with a start, he realized that he'd been glaring right into Yang's face. He unclenched his fist immediately and sighed. "Sorry, Yang. I'm a little- well, you know why I'm sure."

"Yeah." Yang placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, which gave him just the faintest amount of comfort. "Your sisters are all still downstairs, but if you go down looking like this they'll know something's wrong. Breathe for a second."

"Right..." He took a few deep breathes, focusing hard on curbing his anger and relaxing his facial features. It was an effort, but after a couple moments he could feel his jaw finally slacken and his pulse slow down. "Alright. Am I passable now?"

"Hmmmm." She brought her hands up to his cheeks and moved his head back and forth, as if she were examining some precious relic. "Better. Less rage, more 'kicked puppy'. You can pass it off as Weiss sharing some unfortunate news."

"Like she's being forced to moved out of her multi-million Lien estate?"

"Exactly!" She gave an audacious grin as she released his face, and he felt the warmth of her attempt to lighten his mood. "Seriously, though, are you gonna be okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll be okay. I'm gonna drive around a little before work, try to blow off some steam before I even attempt to serve Vermilion's customers."

He wasn't sure what spurred it, but he spontaneously decided to grab her left hand with his free right hand. The movement surprised her only briefly before she shifted her hand above his so that they could hold each other's hands properly. "Yang, thank you for... anything and everything you've done. I don't know _exactly_ what you did since I didn't ask Weiss, but she made it clear that you were looking out for me."

"Don't worry about it." She brought him into a hug that he could only return with the one arm. Once again, he was met with the smell of lavender coming from her hair. Shouldn't that have blown away from her motorcycle ride? "I'm here for you, and I know you'll be there for me if and when I need you."

"Of course I will." She stepped back and gave him enough space to comfortably walk past her. "See you at school tomorrow?"

"You know it."

Managing to sneak past his sisters without arousing suspicion was something of an achievement, but he pulled it off and hit the road in his truck. He skipped between songs until he found some pop singles that had little to relate with his current mood, all in order to calm down some more before work.

The last thing related at all to Weiss he allowed himself to think was to wonder how he was supposed to treat her around his sisters. After all, if they found out she was Crystal, the former heiress could very easily be subject to hostile actions from the lot of them.

No; it was best for everyone if he kept that secret between them. Maybe forever.

- **Weiss** -

It was done. She'd hated every single moment of it, but Jaune finally knew the whole truth.

Strangely, what hurt the most was the fact that he hadn't yelled at her. She would've welcomed it as what she deserved, but he instead chose to bury his anger, say his piece, and simply leave. Now here she was, collapsed on his desk chair with a house key to this very home.

'An Arc always keeps their word' indeed.

Some indeterminate time after Jaune left, Yang opened the door just enough to put her head through. "Hey. Need me to distract any Arc girls from talking to you."

"...Just for a little bit, if you don't mind."

"Can do." With that the door closed, leaving Weiss alone to wipe away any evidence of tears. She took solace in the fact that Jaune said he might forgive her some day. Some day was better than never, in her opinion.

The past had finally been dealt with. Now it was time for the present.

Once she considered herself decent enough to be seen, she made her way downstairs to join the rest of the Arc family. Everybody was situated around the living room with the t.v. on, although only Juniper and Jade were paying it any mind.

Weiss sat on the sofa next to the Arc matriarch, who gave a gentle smile at her arrival. "I was wondering when you would join us. Is everything okay?"

"Things could certainly be worse, I suppose." It was a diplomatic answer, designed to answer the question while leaving it open to interpretation. Schnee habits die hard. She hadn't chosen her seat by chance, however, as she needed to talk to Juniper specifically. "I heard from Jaune that you're part of a law firm. Are you by any chance still practicing?"

"I'm more of a consultant nowadays; why, do you need legal advice?" The wiry woman gave her a mischievous grin. Was she where the Arc children got their silly side from? "If you're going to be arrested soon, I'm sorry to say that I only deal with civil court cases."

"Goodness, I hope that I never need that type of assistance. What I need is a legal aid to help me go over a contract once it's e-mailed to me. While I like to consider myself business savvy, my father's legal team is nothing to sneeze at; so, if you would be willing to help me dissect the terms and lawyer-speak, I would gladly pay for your expertise."

"I see." Juniper was thoughtful for a moment, briefly turning her attention to the show on the screen before dismissing it. "You're entering into a contract with your father, which leads me to believe that you're either signing your life away for a job, or you won't be returning to live with him."

"The latter. Jaune has already given me a house key-" She produced it from her pocket as evidence. "-so that I might live here a while longer. If that's okay with you, of course."

"Of course it is, dear. However, as I told you before, you will be expected to pull your weight around the house."

Weiss recalled their initial conversation on Wednesday night. "Did you have something particular in mind?"

Juniper's grin returning did not set her mind at ease.

X

 **Not gonna lie, the initial storyboard had Weiss holding onto the Crescent/Crystal secret for much longer; however, if I did that, I felt that the story would be in danger of stagnating. With all of that said, how do you all think I handled it?**

 **Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day/night!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hey, Muse, I'm really supposed to be writing Charismatic Gamer right-**

 **Muse: MORE.**

X

- **Jaune** -

The ride to school was impossibly quiet. It was a bit paradoxical, especially given that the radio was relaying one of the many morning talk shows, but not a word or gesture had been shared between Weiss and himself after they hopped into his truck. The reason for this was simple enough: he didn't want to talk, and she didn't have much to say.

Returning home after his Sunday shift had been an experience, to say the least. The Arc girls were perceptive enough to realize that something was off with his mood and how he never quite met Weiss's eyes, but he did his best to brush off their questions. When they continued to push anyways...

 _"Jaune, what in the world is going on?" Olive was concerned, of course, and he appreciated the care that she was trying to show. The other girls were listening attentively as they looked back and forth between him and Weiss, who seemed rather intent on filing her nails._

 _As much as Jaune wanted to confide his troubles in his family, he was still hesitant to throw Weiss to the wolves that were his overprotective sisters. So he decided that if he couldn't just ignore the questions, he'd turn it into a joke to break the tension. "It's just... Weiss said that she likes pickles, and I'm not sure I can be friends with her anymore."_

 _The confusion from the group was palpable, but they shifted their full attention to the house guest to see her rebuttal. Weiss was stiff in her seat as she looked at him_ _with a silent question._

 _He gave her a curt nod. Thankfully she received the message, as she let out an open scoff and crossed her arms indignantly. "I simply fail to see what you have against cucumbers! They're light, delicious, and can be utilized in a myriad of ways."_

 _His sisters' reactions were instantaneous, as most of them quickly began to chide her for her poor taste in food. The sole exception was Jade, who, apparently feeling some strange sense of camaraderie, walked up to Weiss and shook her hand. Jaune took advantage of the ensuing chaos to make his strategic exit; he almost felt like he'd be a great tactician in another life._

A ghost of a smile crossed his face at the image; if Weiss noticed anything, she didn't comment on it.

Even after the truck was parked at Beacon, they remained silent walking into the building. The stark contrast from just a few days prior was not lost on him, and he briefly wondered if they'd ever recover that feeling of friendship to the level it had been at. It would require forgiving her first, obviously, but he wasn't quite ready for that yet.

They went their separate ways upon going through the doors, with Weiss headed to her locker and Jaune on his way to meet with a particular educator. He thought that he might have to go all the way to the man's office, but as he walked through Beacon's halls he happened to chance upon Ozpin, who was nursing what appeared to be a fresh cup of coffee. Jaune fell into step with the headmaster as he greeted him with, "Good morning, professor Ozpin."

"Good morning to you, Mr. Arc." He took a sip from his mug; Jaune could've sworn that he heard the man give a pleased grunt as he did. "How are you this morning?"

Stressed. "I'm fine, sir. If you don't mind me asking, are you free for a meeting after school?"

Ozpin lowered his coffee as he stoically regarded his student. "My doors are always open to my students, but to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You said before that you wanted me to go to college through the music program. I was hoping we could talk about the careers that would be available to me if I did."

Ozpin's feet stopped walking for a brief moment, forcing Jaune to slow down until the headmaster caught back up. When he did so, there was a genuine smile on his face. "Well, this is certainly quite the happy surprise. I assume your family convinced you to give it a chance?"

 _"-In some ways, you and I are equally aimless. Maybe that's why I want you to succeed with your music."_

"...My family and a friend, sir."

"I see. Yes, Mr. Arc; I will gladly allot some time for you this afternoon. Come see me right after last class, understood?"

"Thank you, professor. I'll see you this afternoon." Ozpin lifted his mug as an acknowledgement, and Jaune departed from him feeling oddly determined. He still had his reservations about a musical career, but maybe some positive light could be shed on the opportunity.

The first two periods of the day flew by, until Jaune found himself in his usual spot in the library during third period. If he decided to go back into Band or Chorus he'd lose this little free period of his, so he was going to make the most of it while he still could and study ahead for his classes. He was about ten minutes into his Mammal Biology textbook when a familiar voice addressed him with, "Mammals, huh? I prefer birds, myself."

Jaune looked up to see Yang standing right beside him with a small smile on her face. He laughed as she pulled out the chair just next to his own, though he was quiet so as not to disturb the other library visitors. "Any birds in particular?"

"Crows are cool, and I've just recently opened up to ravens. So, heads up for later, Professor Peach's classes are being subbed by Dr. Scarlatina today. It's why I'm here in the first place.

"Ooh, so I get two free periods today. Nice." Velvet's dad was a nice guy, and everyone liked him from the bottom of their hearts; sadly, he suffered from "has-no-disciplinary-bone" syndrome and tended to only enforce the teacher's plan for the day if it involved a test.

In the corner of his vision, Jaune saw a familiar head of blue hair walk through the double doors and begin chatting up the librarian. "Neptune's in your third period, too?"

"Yeah, he is." Yang glanced between the blueberry and Jaune. "Need to talk to him? I can leave-"

"No, no; stay, please. I'd rather not talk to him at all." He turned his full attention to Yang in order to block out Weiss's accomplice. "You're easier on the eyes, anyways."

Yang's eyebrows raised into the air, and Jaune felt like slapping himself. Why did his mouth operate without his brain around her these days? "I-I'm sorry, I did it again. Just ignore me."

"Hmm." Yang lifted her chair ever so slightly and scooched it closer to his. "You know, I don't think I want to."

"Huh? Uh, why not?"

She only smiled in response before redirecting the topic. "You know, Jaune, I was thinking that you haven't had the time to relax between everything you dealt with last week. Have you managed to relieve any of that stress?"

Apparently she could read him pretty well. "Not really, but I should be able to play on my guitar a little tonight and de-stress that way."

"Music, huh? I guess in your family you wouldn't have enough privacy for the 'other' method of stress relief." There was an unfamiliar glint in her eyes, and Jaune definitely felt like he was on the back-foot. Was this was prey felt like in the wild? "Do you have any days off of work this week?"

"Not this week, no. Next week I should be starting my joint schedule with Olive, so we'll probably only work three or so days. Why?"

"'Why?' Isn't it obvious?" Yang leaned in just enough that he had a better view of her 'assets', which he desperately tried to ignore. "You're really gonna make the girl ask you out a second time?"

Where was this aggressiveness coming from?! "Ask me out? Oh, you mean when we went out last Sunday. If you're down for another day like that, I am, too."

"Hmm." She seemed a bit dissatisfied as she reset her position in her seat, granting him the chance to breathe. "I guess that'll work for now. Make sure you text me your schedule once you have it, okay?"

"No problem." He wasn't sure if he'd ever felt so vulnerable around Yang before, but it almost as if he'd bit right onto a baited hook. Despite his better instincts telling him to drop it, he wanted to verify something. "Is this another, uh, 'not-date?'"

Yang's grin was mischievous as that unfamiliar shine returned to her eyes. "You tell me, Jaune; is it?"

She rose before he could respond, departing from him with a sashay to her hips. All Jaune could do was watch her saunter away with hypnotized eyes. _'I-I was not prepared for that.'_

The way Jaune saw it, Yang Xiao Long had always been confident in herself. She could turn heads just by walking through a doorway, and she naturally knew that. However, he'd never felt... _targeted_ by her before, as the blonde tended to keep a some type of distance from him even as she teased him. Like a ray of sunshine: always friendly and inviting, but never like a whirlpool that had you in its grasp.

When lunch came around, Pyrrha was missing from the table. Nora explained that Pyrrha had some classwork she said she wanted to take care of while she could. Jaune wasn't sure if he bought it completely, but he also didn't really have a right to complain about it, so the group ate lunch together normally. Weiss mainly talked to Ruby and Blake throughout the meal while Nora tried to keep the conversation lively. The atmosphere was awkward, and it almost certainly felt that way to everyone else, too.

He sighed into his tray as he took care of it. "Normal" was long gone, just like he thought it would be.

After class...

As suspected, nothing was really done under Dr. Scarlatina's tutelage, though Jaune at least did him the courtesy of going over the coursework while they were in the class. Once the bell rang, Jaune made a beeline for the headmaster's office while sending a text message to Weiss.

 _Jaune: Forgot to mention it earlier, but I'm meeting with Ozpin now. Career consultation. Will see you afterwards._

A moment later-

 _Weiss: Understood. I will be in the library when you're done._

Nodding to himself, he put his phone away and finished his trip. The door was open when he got there, and Ozpin waved him in as soon as he approached the office. "Thanks again for meeting with me, Professor."

"There's no need for thanks; I'm simply grateful that you came to me for help, young man. Now, do you have a particular career path you were curious about?"

Jaune shook his head. "Not really, no. I can tell you that I'm not much of a songwriter, so that's out; but otherwise I'm all ears, sir."

"Understood. To simply list some job positions off the top of my head: there are teachers, sound design teams for movies, studio management and recording, musical therapists, instrument development, journalism-"

"Hold on, sir; therapists?" Jaune was a little perplexed. "Like psychiatrists but with music?"

"It's a little more complicated then that, but yes. The requirements for it are rather strict, as one needs to be educated in biology, psychology, and physiology, as well as be competent in multiple instruments." Ozpin's glasses glimmered mysteriously in the office light. "Does that interest you, Mr. Arc?"

"Kind of..." More than a little, in fact. Jaune could admit to using music as an emotional crutch at times, but he hadn't given much thought into how it also could help others. "The scholarship that you mentioned before, would it cover all of the courses required? It sounds like a pretty intense set of classes."

"That would depend entirely on your ability to keep up your grades, Mr. Arc, but I have little reason to suspect that it wouldn't." Ozpin paused to sip from his mug. Jaune almost hoped that it was decaf this late in the day. "I suggest you keep that career in mind as you attend your classes here. Were there any other positions that interested you from my list?"

Jaune scratched his chin in thought. "Can you tell me about the studio management stuff?"

A good fifteen minutes passed with Jaune inquiring about average job descriptions and how much people made, particularly the therapists and teaching jobs. After they were done and he left to pick Weiss up from the library, the only certainty he had was that music journalism sounded just about the worst option to him. Or at least the most boring.

Weiss was studying when he found her, and when he tapped her on the shoulder she simply packed up her textbooks and followed after him, neither of them saying a word. It was bizarre to say the least. She was right beside him; and yet, despite his anger and frustration, he almost felt as if he missed her.

 _Crescent:_ _Good night, and I hope you can still call me friend._

Damnit...

- **Adam** -

He felt the surface of the tools that had been passed to him in the courtyard as he and Tyrian enjoyed their ever-so-rare supervised break in the sun. A hammer and a chisel were what Adam slipped into his sleeves, and he scoffed as the scorpion kept up that insufferable grin. "Simple tools, if effective, but how long do you think it'll take for us to complete this plan?"

"I haven't the foggiest idea, I'm afraid." Tyrian shrugged as if to say 'what can you do?' "I've only performed a little manual labor in my time. We could be done in a week, or it may take months. Time is aplenty, so it's all down to how we use it."

Adam was unimpressed, but held his tongue lest he be annoyed by the answer to his follow-up question. Tyrian had received these and one other tool in a package that arrived in his cell over lunch. Apparently, the scorpion's lawyer knew whose palms to grease within the system. What that lawyer had to gain from this was anyone's guess, but Adam was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. "Fine. I'll get right to work."

"Be cautious, young bull." Tyrian's voice was oddly serious for once. "I don't know which guards are on the payroll of my friend, so assume all of them are hostile until I do."

"Of course." Adam slipped away from his "comrade" and spent the rest of the break away from him. Hours passed, and he eventually found himself alone within his cell as the facility lights went dim for the night. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he moved his bed away from the wall and, finding a good spot below the height of the bed, brought out the hammer and chisel and began to tap away at the wall.

It was tedious work, and far beneath him in most circumstances, but it was better then simply waiting for his prison sentence to end. If he allowed the system to do what it liked, then he would no doubt have a motion-tracker placed on him for the next ten years. He was a proud Faunus, and refused to be chained to some designated apartment like a _mutt_.

Adam Taurus was a revolutionary. He would one day subjugate the humans beneath the Faunus's heel, even if the White Fang believed his methods to be too extreme. That said, Tyrian and he were not friends; they were merely using each other for their own ends. He was just fine with leaving the scorpion once the escape was complete.

 _"Blake, my beloved... I will make you pay for your betrayal."_

- **Weiss** -

Over the past seven days, Weiss had learned a fair amount about herself. She had discovered that while she excelled at cleaning wooden and glass surfaces courtesy of her keen eyes, her cooking and laundry skills left something to be desired; her Battleship prowess was equaled only by Juniper Arc; and, last but not least, she had very little patience when it came to waiting for e-mails. "Who does my father think he is!?"

"The owner of the world's largest energy company?" Plum supplied as Weiss paced around the living room. "I'm sure he'll message you soon; it's already been a week, after all."

The thought did little to set her mind at ease, as Jacque was a weasel of a man through-and-through. Every moment of silence was another action to subvert their oral agreement. Well, if he thought that she would refrain from voicing his sins then he was wrong. She'd give him only a couple more days before she brought the roof down over his head.

Her many belongings had been packed into boxed shipped to the Arc home, where most of them sat around her appropiated guest bedroom. She left most of them in their boxes or cases, as she had no desire to repack them if she was to find a new place to live. Sighing, Weiss turned her attention to the performance that could easily be heard emanating from the front porch of the house. "Jaune really does love to play, doesn't he?"

"Yep, although his audience is a little fiestier this Sunday." Olive walked over to the window and pulled down the blinds just enough to peek out. "Sapphire and Lavender are doing a little dance while Yang's tapping out the beat on her knees with-"

Olive paused before continuing. "Correction, she's using _Jaune's_ knees as a drumpad. Looks like she's using his old, soft xylophone sticks. I wonder if it hurts?"

Weiss's pursed her lips for a moment. The relationship between herself and Jaune could best be described as "polite"; in other words, almost superficial. They answered direct questions, nodded to each other when they happened to pass by one another, and... that was it. It was such a far cry from the few days of true connection they shared that she almost wanted to pitch a fit.

She was still able to enjoy the company of his family for the time being, but even his sisters had long noticed the tension between them. Weiss feared that, before too long, the pleasant atmosphere and feeling of "belonging" would truly disappear. Would they be able to move past this rut she caused before it was too late?

"Whoa, hold on." Olive's voice grabbed everyone's attention as she continued peering out of the window. "I'm seeing moving trucks park right next door. That house has been empty for a while, so maybe we're finally getting some new next door neighbors!"

Plum bounced up in order to partake in the view. "Cool, I hope there's people our age for once. Everybody we're friends with are at the far side of the neighborhood."

The last line was aimed at Weiss, who gave a wordless 'hm' in acknowledgement. "At least they're still within walking distance."

"Maybe, but it'd be nice to not have to worry Mom when we say that we're headed to a friend's house. If they lived next door, there's no chance of getting lost or in an accident." Plum continued observing the new arrivals. "Two moving trucks and a small SUV are there now. Family exitting out of SUV, aaaaand... They have a daughter who looks somewhere between sixteen to eighteen."

Olive threw her hands up. "Whoo, new friend!"

Jade shook her head, but Weiss could see the smile she wore behind their backs. The Arc was the most taciturn of the bunch, but her heart was obviously in the same place. Weiss opened her mouth to make an inquiry, but as she did so she felt her phone vibrate twice in her pocket. Checking the device, she saw-

 _New e-mail_

 _Sender: Father (XXXXSchnee@SEC)_

 _Title: Contract._

 _One attachment._

Weiss promptly vacated her spot on the sofa and retrieved her laptop from her bedroom. Powering up the computer from its standby mode, she proceeded to download the document (which was fourteen pages long, honestly smaller than she had anticipated) and send a copy of the e-mail to Juniper Arc. The Arc matriarch, who had been given the exact details of the oral agreement, would review the packet and alert her to any errors or egregious attempts at deception. From there, a corrected packet would be sent back to her father for his own review.

Content to allow the experienced attorney do things in her own time, especially considering her nap schedule, Weiss closed her laptop and went to rejoin the Arc family in the living room. As she returned she noticed that Sapphire, Lavender, and Jaune had come inside the house, with the latter seeming both happy and flustered as the former two were patting him on the back in celebration. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah," chirped Lavender as she turned to Olive. "My sister owing me ten Lien."

Olive rolled her eyes and retorted, "My wallet's upstairs, so be patient, alright?"

Jaune continued wearing a rather odd grin even as he accosted his siblings. "Please don't make bets over my life, alright?" Beat. "Although Cardin does owe me forty, now that I think about it."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "Just what exactly did I miss?"

The only Arc son rubbed the back of his head. "Well..."

X

 **I am happy to report that nobody guessed Tyrian's identity wrong. It's a good thing because, let's face it, I must've dropped a hundred easy-to-spot clues.**

 **So, twenty chapters down! I feel good about this story, I really do. It's shaping up well, complete with small clues and foreshadowing** **that some people are catching and others are missing by miles.** **Next time, we see the results of Weiss's planning (blackmailing?) and...**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Please consider leaving a review, and have a nice day/night.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Note: For this story, one Lien is equal to one American dollar as opposed to Canon RWBY having Lien roughly equal to Japan's Yen.**

 **X**

 **-Blake-**

Blake Belladonna was sitting down and holding one of her favorite books in her hands, but, for perhaps the first time since she'd purchased it, she was paying more attention to Yang than the ink on the pages. "Wow, Yang, that's-"

"Crazy, right?"

"I was gonna say 'sounds like it's straight out of a movie,' but yes." Yang was inside her own closet, putting on the next assortment of clothes for Blake to evaluate. When Blake had been invited over for "some long overdue girl time," helping the blonde pick out an outfit for a date hadn't been what she had in mind. Finding out that said date would be with Jaune, however, piqued her curiosity and boy did Yang spill. "It seems like you all have been busy behind everybody's back."

"Definitely. Sorry to lay it all on you like this, but I've been wanting to talk about it to somebody that wasn't family, you know?" Yang stepped out from the closet and looked herself over in the mirror. Nodding, she turned to Blake and asked, "So, how's this one?"

It was an interesting ensemble: A baggy, orange sweater with a red skirt and leggings. Blake crinkled her nose. "You're one pair of glasses away from being able to say 'Jinkies.'"

Yang glanced at the mirror again. "You're right, what was I thinking? Next!"

Blake rolled her eyes as she disappeared. Yang had been through a few outfits in the process of telling her and Jaune's story. Taken in bits and pieces it was fairly romantic and not unlike what she might find in one of her books; however, something was sticking out to her, and that something bothered her. "Can you walk me through something, Yang?"

"Hmm?"

"So, Jaune gets his heart crushed by Weiss not showing up to their date-"

"Right."

"-Then, Jaune has to shoot Pyrrha down after the dance, causing Pyrrha to avoid sitting at our lunch table half of the time-"

"Sadly."

"-After that, Jaune finds out that Weiss ditched him on purpose, hurting him even more than before, and that's when you decided to start being aggressive with your feelings?"

"That about sums it up, yes. Why?" Yang reappeared, this time in a slim, orange dress that accentuated her figure. Rather than examine herself she waited for Blake to finish her train of thought, which the latter appreciated.

"It's just, from an outsider's point-of-view, you picked Jaune up on the rebound. It sounds like he was hurting pretty badly, and then you came along with the knockout punch." Blake gave an awkward shrug. "That's how I see it, at least. I'm worried about how that would affect you two- I don't know, being a thing."

Yang froze, which was an unusual thing for Blake to see from her, but that just meant that her words had hit close to home. She wasn't trying be mean or upset her friend, she just wanted to honest. Slowly, Yang turned to the mirror and peered into it, and Blake noticed that the blonde was gazing into her own eyes as opposed to simply checking herself out. What did Yang see in her reflection? "I... I don't want to be like my mom, Blake."

Her cat ears twitched curiously. "What do you mean?"

Her words were slow. "I mean- My real mom, Summer, has regrets over how things went back in her day. She'd been passive, and that ended with more than a few hurt feelings in the end. I gave Weiss and Pyrrha a chance since they'd been right there beside Jaune, but now? I don't want to hold back. I don't want to look into the past and say 'If only.' This is my chance, my story, and I refuse to let things just pass me by. Is that so wrong?"

Blake was glad she didn't have to look straight at Yang, because she hadn't been expecting something quite that harsh. Yang was wrestling with something, and Blake didn't know how she could help besides just being there for her when she needs it. So, Blake set her book down, stood up, and gently set a hand on Yang's shoulder. "Just be careful, Yang. I don't want you to get hurt, that's all."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Yang smiled at her, which she softly returned as she returned to her seat. "Happy topic now. How's this dress?"

Blake rolled her eyes. "You look like a high-class hooker."

Xiao Long paused for just a moment until her face burst into a grin. "Aww, thank you! I'm gonna hold on to this one for another day, then, but that's not the look I want. Next!"

Shaking her head, Blake finally put her nose back in her book. She still had a bad feeling about all of it, but she'd stay quiet until she found something constructive or helpful to share. Her promise to her father came to mind: helping Weiss out if she needed it. Blake just hoped that she could uphold that promise without getting stuck between two friends, because that would be annoying...

Speaking of Weiss, what did she want out of all of this? She'd have to talk to the former heiress soon. Maybe she might need help that wouldn't include picking through clothes. "Blake, how about this?"

There was a brief glance. "No."

 **-Weiss-**

Weiss slipped on her new business shoes and appraised her appearance for the final time. Outside of a light jacket and having to replace the damaged heels, she was wearing the same business outfit she'd worn the day of the meeting with the White Fang. It was a deliberate choice, as she refused to allow that horrid memory to remain attached to her attire. She would purge her past and walk out of this meeting with her head held high, so help her Gods.

There was a soft knock on her open bedroom door, and Jaune asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes. Let us be off." She grabbed her suitcase and met up with him, together walking out of the house for the most important meeting of her life thus far. The trip to the lawyer's office was quiet, as had become the norm, but Weiss doubted that she would be in the mood to talk even if they still on good terms with each other. The contract had gone back and forth a number of times, each iteration having some problem or line that Jacques tried to slide in within all of the lawyer-speak. It had been stressful, but, fortunately, Juniper Arc had proved to be very adept at parsing through the endless paragraphs in order to find any and all troublesome clauses.

Fifteen minutes after their departure from the house, Jaune found a parking space and pulled in, though he kept the truck running for the heat. "We're here."

She glanced at the building across the pavement. It was a nondescript two-story office building with a sign above the door that said "Greenling and Associates." When she went inside, she would be meeting with a man named Blossom Gale, who would be acting as her lawyer and witness in place of Juniper. Weiss grabbed her suitcase and opened the door, late November's chill nipping at her immediately. "Thank you for the ride, Jaune."

"No problem." He paused a moment before adding, "Good luck in there. You're gonna be fine."

She chuckled despite herself. "Do you mean fine, or f.i.n.e?"

"Both, I think," Jaune retorted with a smirk before bringing out his phone. "I'll be here when you get out."

She nodded and said, "See you in a little while." Lowering herself to the ground, she shut the truck door and walked to the building quickly to escape the wind. The interior was about what you would expect, with the walls painted a soft taupe and a small list of names next to the receptionist, which contained the brief details of all the lawyers employed there. Straightening her skirt before walking up to the front desk, Weiss adopted a polite business smile and said to the brunette employee, "Hello, my name is Weiss Schnee. I'm here to see Blossom Gale as part of a group meeting."

"Of course, one moment, Miss." The unnamed woman swiftly grabbed the desk phone and pressed two buttons. "Mr. Gale? Weiss Schnee to see you."

"Understood." She set the phone on the receiver and turned back to Weiss. "He'll meet with you in Boardroom 3. Go down this hall, take the first left, and it'll be on your right."

Offering her thanks, Weiss followed the instructions and found the appropriate room. It was a smaller room, designed for ten people at the most to be sat around the center, rectangular table. Taking the side opposite of the door, she sat herself down and set the briefcase on the table. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long before a stocky man with strawberry-blonde hair walked in and gave her a polite smile. "Miss Schnee, I presume."

She reached a hand out, which he quickly shook. "Indeed. Thank you for your time today."

"It's no issue at all. June is a dear friend of mine, and I'm happy to take her place for this. You have all of the required contract copies, I hope."

"I do." She opened her briefcase and showed him the three stacks of paper, all identical, that would be the final cut of the relationship between Jacques and herself.

They engaged in light pleasantries until someone knocked on the boardroom door. When Blossom called our "Enter," Jacques Schnee himself walked in, accompanied by a rather thin man with a handlebar moustache. Blossom and Weiss both rose, with the former stating, "Greetings, Mister Schnee. My name is Blossom Gale, and I'll be representing your daughter today. And how-"

Blossom's businesslike demeanor faded for a moment. "- dreadful it is to see you here, Arthur."

"Likewise, Gale, but fortunately it appears that we won't have to keep each other company long." The man named Arthur nodded towards his client, who had already taken the seat opposite Weiss. "Miss Schnee, please produce the contract for me to review one more time."

Weiss passed one of the copies to her father's lawyer before sitting back down, not quite able to still her angry tongue. "I must say, _father_ , that was quite the attempt at undercutting me. How was it you referred to the designated wage role? 'Sanitation Director?'"

"All the better to take out the trash, my daughter." He sniffed the air to make his point. "You haven't made any last minute changes to the terms of your silence, I hope."

"Of course not, I'm not like you."

Blossom and Arthur remained silent, the latter flipping through the pages in an attempt to find any discrepancies. Pausing only to point to an unknown passage and quietly ask Jacques a question, the wiry lawyer made quick work of the contract and set it down when he was done. "I see no issues or errors in the documents. Jacques?"

The elder Schnee pulled a small, brown envelope out of his pocket and slid it across the table. Weiss caught it just before it went off the edge, shooting Jacques an annoyed glare before opening it and pulling out the sole object within: a cashier's check from the Central Bank of Vale, with all of the important security features present to prove its authenticity.

Three hundred and seventy-five thousand Lien, the first of four equal payments as Jacques needed to avoid suspicion in regards to his taxes. That was the price of her silence, and her freedom. This small slip of paper would help her carve out a new path in life. Voicing none of this out loud, she kept a stoic face as she said, "The amount is correct. Let us sign these papers and be done with it."

All three copies of the contract made the rounds, four signatures sealing the private deal forever. One copy would be going with Jacques, one with Weiss, and the last would be stored within the building for safekeeping. Jacques didn't say another word, and once he had his copy he simply dismissed himself. Arthur followed suit, only nodding politely to Weiss before he disappeared.

Weiss stuck both the check and the papers in her briefcase, letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. "Finally."

Blossom chuckled as he grabbed the office copy. "It's been a long time coming, huh?"

"Not really, but it definitely feels that way." There were still a hundred things to solve regarding her situation, not the least of which was finding an apartment to move into. Her life had gotten from being guided and stable to loose and uncertain, and she certainly wouldn't have an easy time adapting to a new lifestyle. And none of that took into account that she had no idea what career she should strive for now.

But right at that moment, none of the above mattered. She was free. She was free! Bidding farewell to Blossom, she stepped back out into the cold, outside air and let the wind whip against her skin. Autumn was a season of transitions, and her life was certainly due for some changes. The coming Winter was looking to be difficult for many reasons.

It's a good thing she was raised in Atlas, then. She could handle a little chill.

 **X**

 **I won't say "Hey, I'm back to writing now!", because we all know what happens when you play that game.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this brief chapter as I try to get back into the swing of things.**


	22. Chapter 22

- **Yang** -

 _Thud_

Metal chains rustled as the object hanging from them suffered some abuse. The chains themselves had seen better days, but that paled in comparison to the damage the punching bag was taking.

 _Thud-thud_

Sweat fell to the ground, proof of the time spent improving her body and staying fit. She paid it no mind even as it threatened to get into her eyes.

 _Thud-SLAM_

"That's good. You're done for today."

Yang let her arms hang loose as she steadied her breathing. Her coach released the bag he was holding and smiled as he passed her a bottle of water. "Good to see you keep up with your conditioning, Yang."

"Of course. I can't let myself get all flabby, can I?" She took some long gulps, finishing the bottle before throwing it at a nearby trash can. She was proud to see it go in without bouncing off the gym wall this time. "By the way, I talked to my parents and their rule is still the same: No amateur circuit until I graduate."

"Shame. Oh well, not like I don't see their point." Her coach, a rather short man with equally short, black hair, rolled his shoulders in a shrug as he passed her a towel. "Still, I know you'll knock em out when you get to the ring."

"Thanks, Mac. I'll see you soon." One change of clothes later and Yang was on the way home, silently hyping herself up for her career. How could she not? She was going to be able to fight people and get paid for it, as long as she did well. Sadly, until she graduated she would have to make do with delusions of grandeur. _"With her third TKO in a row, Yang Xiao Long has firmly cemented herself as the number one female boxer in the world!"_

"And the crowd goes wild! AAAAAH Yang, you're so awesome!"

Okay, maybe she wasn't so silent about it.

Shutting Bumblebee's engine off, she hopped from the bike and happily strolled into her house, where Ruby and Summer sat watching T.V. in the living room. "Hello, my favorite people. Did I miss anything?"

"Not especially, but you did get a package delivered today. Were you expecting anything?"

"Not really." Summer grabbed a nearby envelope and passed it to her. It was slim, but as Yang took it she could feel the object inside of it slide from one side to the other. "Thanks, though. I'm gonna go shower and get ready for my date."

Ruby lazily waved her away with one hand. "Have fun. I don't wanna be an aunt yet, by the way."

"And it's too early for me to be a mom, so we agree." Yang tousled her sister's hair as she passed, launching herself up the steps solely because she could. Tossing her belongings on the bed, she walked over to her calendar and marked a circle on the day's date to show that she had done her exercise. Next to the calendar was a specially marked map, which she took a moment to review despite the fact that she had it all but memorized.

On this map was the location of every venue used for the amateur boxing circuit. There were a small amount in Atlas and Vacuo, and several more in Vale, but by far the largest amount was in Mistral, across the continent of Anima. They reveled in fighting as a culture, and it was there she'd likely make the most money for each fight. Until she could hit the road, she just needed to stay in prime condition without overexerting herself.

Yang grinned as she thought about the future. In a perfect world she might've been able to get Jaune out on the road with her, but what with him wanting a stable job for the family, she would gladly settle for him being the arms she returned to after every victory or defeat. He would gently soothe her wounds, maybe sing her a song as he fixed her (probably) trashed head of hair, and the following day when she felt better she would happily return every loving gesture twofold.

And she would start this future by having a good date tonight! Spinning around, she grabbed a new set of clothes to put on after her shower, but as she was about to leave the room her eyes fell on the envelope that was addressed to her. There was no listed sender or return address, which was always suspicious, but the package's almost non-existent weight helped to ease any worry of it being something dangerous. Slowly, she broke the seal and held the package up so the object within would fall into her free hand.

The scrap of fabric that landed in Yang's hand shouldn't have made her eyes fly wide. It shouldn't have made her heart stutter. It shouldn't have made her mouth go dry, or her stomach fall to her feet, or her world go red. But it did.

- **Jaune** -

"Jaune, are you sure you want to go out in slacks?"

He nodded as he straightened out his button-down shirt, the same blue one he'd worn several weekends ago. The reminder of that night and what it meant between him and Weiss was ever-present, but he couldn't afford to be scared of a set of clothes. "Yang said, quote, 'wear whatever' when I asked her, so I figured being overdressed is better than being underdressed. Plus, I'll be bringing a T-shirt and jeans along anyways."

Olive let out a quiet "ah" when he lifted the plastic grocery bag with said items inside. "Fair enough. She likes leaving you in suspense, doesn't she?"

"It sure feels like it. Alright, I'm headed out." He bounced down the steps to the ground floor of their home, Olive not far behind as he peeked into the living room. In it he spied Sapphire and Weiss, the latter of whom was talking to somebody on the phone. Noticing him, Sapphire vacated her spot on the sofa and approached him. "Weiss having any luck, Saph?"

"A bit, though not all great. The little townhouse she wanted to rent was perfect until she found out that it uses a floor furnace instead of central heating and air." Sapphire shrugged with a "what can you do?" expression. "What's really bugging her is not knowing how to drive yet. Looks like having her butler Klein around all the time hasn't been good for her."

Meaning she would have to take public transportation to the school, probably a bus, or bum a ride off of somebody. The former heiress was apartment hunting, and there were a lot of things to consider once she'd decided that she wanted to live alone until it came time to go to college. Since they still weren't on great terms, Jaune had opted to leave her to her own devices. Weiss was smart enough to figure something out that would work for her. "Wish her luck for me. I'm off for my date."

"Be safe, bro." Happily receiving his little sisters' hugs, he waved goodbye to them and walked out the door. It was Saturday afternoon, and December had come to be. Throwing his jacket and casual clothes into the backseat, Jaune started his truck and set out towards Yang's house. Having this day of the week of had become a rarity, but with Olive joining him at the restaurant starting next week, it truly looked like he wouldn't have to work as many days moving forward.

Yang inviting him on a date had been- well, not a true surprise given her flirtatious attitude leading up to it, but he still felt a bit stunned even now. It was like putting your name in a hat with hundreds of other people: Sure, you think "wouldn't that be nice?", but you don't expect it to actually _happen_. Now here he was about to go on a date with somebody he honestly never expected to.

 _Long, powder-white hair-_

Jaune furiously shook the image out of his head. This wasn't about her; this was about him and Yang, and their feelings. Speaking of said feelings, he still wasn't one hundred percent sure how he saw Yang. But that's what dates are for, right? To see what the chemistry between two people is like.

Pulling his truck over to the curb, he got out of his ride, took a deep breath, and marched straight up to the front door.

 _Knock knock knock_.

"Just a moment!" It was Summer that called past the door, so he waited patiently until he heard the telltale sound of the deadbolt coming loose. When the door finally opened, Summer beamed as she took him in. "Why hello there! Here to whisk away my daughter, I presume?"

"I am," he answered with a chuckle. "Is she ready?"

"She'll be a moment, something came up that delayed her getting ready for a bit. Would you like to come inside to wait?"

"Please." She led the way inside, directing Jaune to sit on the sofa. "You wouldn't happen have any idea what she has planned for today, would you?"

"I'm afraid not, although I'll bet that she won't be dressed quite as formally as you." Summer visibly held back a smile as he rolled his eyes. Of _course_ he was overdressed in the end. "I'll just go get her, so you sit tight and bare with my husband's 'date my daughter rules.'"

As if on command, a blond man came from the kitchen and approached Jaune. With a trimmed level of stubble and wide shoulders, he looked every bit the part of Yang's father. "You make it sound like I'm gonna hurt him, Summer."

"Aren't you?"

"Only if he deserves it." The man grinned when Jaune flinched a bit, but held his hand out for a shake while Summer disappeared up the stairs. "I'm Taiyang, Yang's old man. Nice to finally meet you, Jaune."

"Likewise, sir," Jaune answered as he returned the firm grip. "If it helps at all, I have five younger sisters to look out for, so I probably have your speech and rules memorized already."

"Whoo, you might, but I'll go through them anyways." Taiyang sat down on the recliner, but kept his eyes firmly on Jaune as he spoke. "I know my daughter likes to stay out late, but if she isn't home by the time I wake up tomorrow you won't be seeing her again; you will treat her with respect; and, last but not least, I don't want to hear about the precinct calling my wife in on her night off for something the two of you've done. Understood?"

"Perfectly, sir."

"Good." With that off of his chest, Taiyang seemed to deflate and relax. "Five little sisters, wow. Are they a handful?"

"Like you couldn't imagine, but I love them just the same." Jaune laughed as he fell back into the sofa cushion. "I can't wait until I can give some guy the same third degree you did. That's gonna be fun."

"You're planning on making them sweat, huh? I think we'll get along just fine." A pause. "On the count of three, name your favorite college team. One, two, three-"

"Emerald City College." They answered at the same time. Jaune started the next round. "Favorite food. One, two, three-"

"Burgers."

Several minutes later, the two of them were laughing their heads off as Tai relayed one of his favorite stories. "A- _haha_ \- and so Qrow comes back around the corner, face com- _plete_ -ly covered in cigarette ashes from god-knows-where, and yells out 'the next prick that wants to swing at me, come on! I'm one for two today and I need to break the tie!'"

Jaune just clutched his stomach as he rolled from side to side, breath coming in wheezes as he tried to gain regain control of his lungs. The sounds of their laughter completely covered the arrival of Yang, who had to clear her throat several times just to get their attention. "Are you two having fun?"

Realizing his date was ready now, Jaune took a moment to gather himself before turning to face her. "Heya, Yang, are-"

His words stopped as he took in her appearance. Yang was wearing a leather jacket with a yellow tank top, a dark pair of jeans, and a pair of thigh-high boots. She'd brushed her hair perfectly to bring out every wave to full effect, and if he wasn't imagining things her lips looked a bit pinker than normal. As he began to gape a little, she did nothing to stop her smirk. "Well, I guess we can safely say you like the look. A compliment never hurts, though."

His jaw somehow began functioning again. "Yang, you look phenomenal. And- and a whole bunch of other words I don't feel safe saying in front of your dad. No offense, Tai."

"None taken, Jaune. But aren't we friends now? You don't have to hide anything from me." Taiyang stood up and set his hands on Yang's shoulders as if he were confiding a secret. "Yang, I only want the best for you and your relationship with him. This kid is great."

Summer, who had chosen not to announce herself, looked back and forth between all of the blondes. "It feels awfully huggy in here. At least you boys are getting along."

"Getting along? Sum, he has great taste in _everything_. Music, movies- Hey, Jaune, Wildhogs-"

"Ride hard!" Jaune finished with a shout.

They fistbumped for no real reason, leading Summer to whisper to her daughter, "Yang, did you know that you were gonna be dating your father?"

"No, no I didn't. At least Jaune's a better singer than dad, so I have that going for me. I could do so much worse."

Summer tilted her head to the side as she considered that. "True. Alright boys, break it up. It's time for them to go."

"Right, right," answered Tai almost dismissively. "You two have fun tonight."

The teens walked out of the house, Jaune still grinning like a madman as they reached the truck. "Yang, your family is _awesome_."

"I'm glad you're having fun," she laughed. "I didn't expect you to come looking so dressed up."

"Right, I feel kinda silly now. I can switch clothes if-"

Yang waved his response away enthusiastically. "No, no, this is perfect for what we're doing. This will help me win our race!"

Jaune blinked. "Race?"

"Yep." He wasn't sure he liked how excited she was. "Before dinner, you and I are going rock climbing!"

"You expect me to rock climb in slacks?! Ooooh, this is gonna suck."

Thankfully for him, Yang directed him to an inside rock wall instead of telling him to actually climb a mountain, though the employee working the front desk at "The Boulder's Challenge!" gave him a confused look when he confirmed that he was climbing as-is. A few minutes later, another employee was setting up their harnesses while Yang, jacket removed so as to have only her tank top and sports bra on, explained their supposed race to him. "This wall's wide enough that we can race up it three times and each time still have different courses. Best two out of three. Sound good?"

"I guess, but if these pants rip I'm gonna be mad." He stuck his tongue out playfully so she understood that he was playing. "Just bragging rights?"

"Hmm." She pursed her pink lips a little. "How about… a 'do-anything' ticket?"

"The loser obeys the winner, huh? Makes me feel like a kid again." Once the employee tugged his harness to confirm that it was on properly, Jaune nodded with a grin. "Alright, you're on!"

Round one, Jaune focused on keeping a steady pace as he progressed upwards. The slacks prevented him from going for some of the higher and wider gaps, but Yang's course seemed to have a slight imbalance of left handholds to right, as she had trouble about halfway up. He ultimately beat her by a matter of seconds, slapping the top of the cliff as Yang hoisted herself on to the last foothold.

Round two, the available grab points were a little clustered together, making it difficult to use his height to it's full advantage. He was still several points down by the time Yang proclaimed her victory. Thus it came down to round three, and for two-thirds of the way they were neck and neck. Jaune made the most of his height while Yang propelled herself up with her superior strength. The sound of a door opening behind them seemed to get Yang's attention, and she paused just a moment to call out, "Hey, Olive!"

"What?" Jaune stopped and turned his head to find his sister, but his timing couldn't have been worse; being halfway between footholds, the only foot he had planted gave way as his weight shifted backwards. He started to fall, only to feel his momentum stop completely as the harness caught his weight. This left him swinging a few inches from the wall. Briefly ignoring his own predicament, he took a moment to look around.

Olive was nowhere to be seen. It quickly dawned on him that he'd been tricked, which was confirmed as Yang repelled down to get eye level with him. "That was dirty and you know it."

"All's fair in love and war, Jaune." She wore a completely unrepentant grin. "I think I'll be holding onto that ticket for a while, if you don't mind."

"It's your call, but can I get a hint of what it'll be?"

"Nope! Come on, let's go eat. I promise that you'll like this place."

Once they had the harnesses off, Jaune slipped into the bathroom to change into his casual clothes, doing his best not to think about how Yang's tank top looked on her once the sweat made it cling closer to her body. With his hormones under control, they left the building and hopped back in his truck. "So what makes you so sure I'll like this mystery restaurant, Yang?"

She held up a single finger. "One word: karaoke."

He just stared at her for a moment, his hand resting on the ignition. "...Karaoke?"

"Karaoke. They have it every Wednesday and Saturday night."

With a twist of his wrist, the engine roared to life. " _Where is this place, what is it called and why haven't I known about it?_ "

The restaurant turned out to be a bar downtown called Junior's, a standalone building with a little patio for the people that wanted to eat and drink outside. The walls and floor were made of hardwood, and many of the signs and posters around the dining area had allusions to rock bands of years long past. Instructed by a sign to pick their own tables, they made their way to a table near the stage in the back. Yang opted to keep her leather jacket on to discourage guys from ogling her, which Jaune mentally agreed with.

Less than a minute after they sat down, a girl with long, black hair and red eyeshadow came to their table with menus. As she passed them out she politely said, with a rather city girl accent, "Hi, my name is Miltia and I'll be your server this evening. Would you like for me to get you two started with some drinks?"

Yang immediately requested a root beer, while Jaune took a moment to glance over the drink selection, which was normal for just about any restaurant. "I'll take some water, please, with no lemon. Can I ask when the karaoke starts? The sign on the way in didn't mention the time.

Miltia glanced at a clock that was on the wall. "The guy who does it should be here in, like, ten minutes. Once he gets set up, you just walk up to him and request what songs you want him to play."

"Awesome, thank you very much." The waitress disappeared with a smile, and so Jaune turned back to his date with a smile. "So, how many songs are we gonna sing?"

Yang seemed amused by his enthusiasm. "'We?' I hate to break it to you, Jaune, but I'm not much of a singer. Although I did string you along with what I wanted to do, so I guess it's only fair it goes both ways. I think I'll sing just one song."

"Aww, just one? How about we do a duet, too?"

She smiled. "Sounds like fun."

They chatted lightly until the waitress returned, with both of them ordering burgers of varying descriptions. The atmosphere between them was good, but after a few minutes Yang seemed to slip into a moody silence. "Yang, is something wrong?"

"Hm?" She popped up when he called her name. "Oh, sorry, just got distracted thinking about something that happened earlier. I'm fine."

Jaune could tell right away that it was the worse version of that word. "I don't want to be pushy, but is there any way I can help? I hate to see you sad."

"I know. You're a good guy like that." She took a moment to think before she answered him. Jaune quietly stayed focused on her, though in the corner of his vision he noted the arrival of an older man with some equipment, likely the karaoke guy. "Jaune, if… if somebody did something terrible to you, do you think you'd be able to forgive them?"

"Something terrible?" _-"Crescent, it's me, Crystal."-_ "I mean, I imagine some things are truly unforgivable, like what happened with my dad, but..."

Yang leaned forward a little. "But?"

"But outside of those big things, I'd imagine it probably depends on if that person is truly sorry for what they did. If they're really willing to go to the effort of apologizing, make amends and all of that, I probably would. Forgive them, I mean."

"Mm. I guess that makes sense." She nodded, mostly to herself. "Sorry, I'm not trying to bring the mood down."

He wanted to comment, but Yang made it a point to put on a smile and talk ahead of him. "Hey, so, that karaoke guy's here. I'm gonna go talk to him, pick our songs out. Any song in particular you want to sing by yourself?"

"Well, I was thinking of singing 'Stand by Me' if he has the track."

"Got it. Be right back!" She stepped away to do as she said. It wasn't hard to tell that something was really eating at her, but until she brought it up again all he could do was try to keep her happy.

Yang decidedly _didn't_ bring the topic back up, but after a few more minutes of talking she seemed to cheer up enough to enjoy their evening together. The food arrived, and Jaune powered through his as he eagerly awaited for them to start the karaoke. He wasn't a moment off, either, for no sooner had he finished and sipped at some of his water did the older man get on the microphone and call out, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, thank you for spending time with us here at Junior's. At this time we'd like to get karaoke night started, so would 'Jaune' please come to the stage?"

"That's you, tiger." Yang gave him a little wink as he stood up. "Go knock their socks off."

"Will do!" He refrained from running up as the other patrons gave him some polite applause. When he reached the stage, he gave the mic a light blow to determine how far he should hold it from his face, giving a nod to the MC as his cue to start the sound of a cello being plucked set the slow tempo, and although the words to the song popped up on the monitor in front of them, he didn't need them to know what words to sing.

 _When the night has come, And the land is dark/  
And the moon is the only light we'll see_

A whistle that he was pretty sure belonged to Yang rang throughout the room, encouraging him to further pour his heart into mic.

 _No I won't be afraid  
No I won't be afraid  
Just as long as you stand, Stand by me_

As Jaune reached the chorus, several people around the room began to clap in time as an emphasis to the cello. They were loving what they were hearing, and he was loving giving it to them.

So _darlin', darlin'_

 _Stand by me  
Oh, stand by me  
Oh stand by me, stand by me_

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give him a round of applause!" Once the song was done the crowd had begun clapping even before they were prompted to, and were quite enthusiastic compared to when he first walked to the stage. He gave a small bow as thanks, beginning to put the mic back before the MC stopped him. "Would 'Yang' please come to the stage and join this young man for a duet?"

On command, his fellow blonde walked up to the stage and stood beside him. He smiled, covering the microphone with his hand so he could whisper to her. "Did you like what you heard, Yang?"

"Oh yeah, but that just makes you a hard act to follow." He set the mic on the stand so they could both sing to it, but Yang continued whispering to him. "By the way, I forgot to tell you what song we're singing, didn't I? It's Just Give me a Reason by Pink."

"Really? Odd song to pick, I think."

She flushed a little. "Yeah, I kinda panicked once I realized I didn't know that many songs we could sing together. I hope that's okay."

"It's cool with me. You ready?" Yang nodded, so he gave another look to the MC who nodded back and clicked on his program. Unlike himself, Yang chose to focus on the lyrics the monitor showed as the piano began to play. She took a deep breath and sang-

 _Right from the stArt  
You were a tHief  
You stole my heart  
And I your wiLing victim  
I lEt you see the parts of me  
That weren't all that pretty  
And with every touch you fixed them_

It was immediately clear that she wasn't that comfortable with singing. She was having issues centering her pitch and occasionally put the emphasis on the wrong syllable, and in the crowd Jaune could see a few people grimacing.

 _Now you've been talking in your sleep, oh, oh  
Things you nevEr say to me, oh, oh  
Tell me that you've had enough  
Of our love, our love_

 _Just give me a reasoN  
Just a little bit's enough  
Just a second we're not broken just bent  
And we can leARn to love again  
It's in the stars  
It's been written in the scars on our hearts  
We're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love AGain_

Some awkward coughs began sounding out. Jaune refrained from glaring out of professionalism, but he wanted nothing more than to thunk them for being unsupportive as he started his section of the music.

 _I'm sorry I don't understand  
Where all of this is coming from  
I thought that we were fine  
(Oh, we had everything)  
Your head is running wild again  
My dear we still have everything  
And it's all in your mind  
(Yeah, but this is happening)_

 _You've been havin' real bad dreams, oh, oh  
You used to lie so close to me, oh, oh  
There's nothing more than empty sheets  
Between our love, our love  
Oh, our love, our love_

 _Just give me a reason  
Just a little bit's enough  
Just a second we're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again  
I never stopped  
You're still written in the scars on my heart  
You're not broken just bent  
And we can learn to love again_

"Jaune and Yang, folks!" Yang never managed to find her stride, and the applause was _noticeably_ more forced this time, but both of them still gave a bow regardless and returned to their seats.

The moment they sat down, Yang put both of her hands on her face and sighed. "That was- ugh. I'm sorry I made you carry me through the rest of that, Jaune."

"It's alright, Yang," he said in an attempt to comfort her. "You were just nervous. Everybody has those times."

"Ha. You're nice, Jaune, but it's not like I'm much better at my best. At least I'm done-" Some color drained from her face. "Oh god I just remembered I still have my single to do whenever my turn comes back."

Jaune flinched despite himself. "If you don't want to sing, Yang, you really don't have to-"

"No, Jaune, I-I'm fine to do it. Really. At least I'm more familiar with the song since my mom plays it all the time. It's Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler. You heard of it?"

"A couple times, my mom likes it, too." He moved uncomfortably in his seat. "Are you sure, Yang? We can have him cancel it."

"I'm sure." Yang looked determined, if nothing else. "I can do this. I can. It's just like a fight."

Once the singer that came up after them was done, the MC called out, "Would Yang please return to the stage for your solo?"

Her walk was stiff as she made her way back to the microphone. The normally confident Yang was now anything but, and Jaune felt himself growing very concerned over what was happening. When she made it up, she gave the mic a tap as a sound test, but it was too hard and nearly threatened to squeal out of the speakers. With the music not yet playing, she grabbed the mic with one hand, began staring down at it-

And continued to for several moments, not giving the MC his cue. It was a classic case of stage fright, from her heavy breathing to her rigid posture. Jaune began to stand up, not sure if it would embarrass her if he pulled her off of the stage, but Yang chose that moment to use her left hand to gesture towards the MC with a rolling motion. Play the song.

The first several bars of pure synthesized beat played, Yang tapping her foot to mark the time. Then came the moment to sing for all she was worth.

 _WhEre have all the good men gONe  
And where are ALl the gods?  
Where's the streetwise HerCules to fight the rising odds?_

Unfortunately, Yang's nerves seemed to have ruined her ability to sing. Her pitch was varying wildly, and Jaune couldn't deny to himself that it was difficult to listen to.

 _Isn't there a white knight upon a fieRy steed?  
Late at night I toss and I turn  
And I dream of what I need_

 _I need a hEeEro-_

"Get off the stage!"

Yang stopped cold as a man one table over from Jaune stood up and yelled. The background music continued to play, uncaring of the fact that it's singer had ceased. A second man at that table began gesturing for the first to sit, but the brown-haired heckler seemed to pay him no attention. "Me and my friend didn't come here to listen to no amateur butcher decent music! Give that mic to somebody else!"

"Hey!" Jaune's chair threatened to fall over from the force he used as he stood up. "She doesn't need you giving her a hard time! You came here on karaoke night, what the hell did you expect?!"

The MC rose from his chair as he spoke into his personal microphone. "Gentlemen, please calm down-"

"What I expected, you blonde bastard, was to be able to come here and enjoy some drinks with my pal on our one night off!" The stranger swayed a bit where he stood. Apparently he was already well on the way to being drunk. "You weren't half bad, how about you get up there and be the song bird?"

His "friends" pleas turned urgent. "Nick, buddy, chill out man. Just sit!"

Jaune gestured to the nicer of the pair without taking his eyes off of the heckler. "See? Your friend agrees with me. And I don't need to sing for some idiot that thinks it's okay to make someone feel bad like this."

Later that night Jaune would be grateful that alcohol slows people down, because that was the moment that Nick decided to grab the wooden chair he'd been sitting on and throw it at him. He sidestepped the delayed attack, causing the legs of the chair to crack as its weight connected with the table beside him. Jaune closed in on his opponent and threw a punch, but it went wide as Nick fell backwards in his attempt to dodge it. Nick shoved himself off of the table to counter, but before he could act a firm hand yanked him by the shoulder and forced him to turn around.

 _WHAM!_

One punch to the face, thrown by an extremely pissed off Yang, and the not-so-saintly Nick was knocked off of his feet as he collapsed on the ground. Jaune fully expected him to stand up and continue the feud, but several empty seconds passed and it became clear that he was out cold. Nick's friend, still unnamed, dropped to his knees to check him and only breathed a sigh of relief when Nick was noted as breathing.

Somebody tapped Jaune on the shoulder, prompting him to turn around and flinch when a rather bulky man with "Junior" on his name tag glared down at him. "All four of you, out."

A moment later, Nick was being carried to his car by the unnamed friend while Jaune and Yang watched them leave. The night air was chilly as the duo walked to Jaune's truck, but once they were in. Jaune finally turned and addressed his date. "Yang, I'm sorry that guy started all of that. Are you okay?"

He thought Yang would be tense or upset, but contrary to his expectations she seemed to have relaxed once the two strangers left. She wasn't smiling, exactly, but the anger seemed to have fled. "Yeah, I'm good. Knuckles sting a little bit and my pride is wounded, but I could be a lot worse."

"Can I see your hand?" She lifted up her left hand as he turned on the interior light. There was a small level of skin peeling on her knuckles, but it was otherwise fine to his eyes. "You might be fine with just a bit of ointment to soothe it."

"Yep, got some at home." Yang suddenly let out a chuckle. "Speaking of home, I'm pretty sure getting into a fight counts as one of the things my parents didn't want me to do tonight."

Jaune's frown lightened up a bit as Yang lifted the mood. "Fight? Yang, you took him out in one hit. It was like one of those shows you watch where the goons always drop to the ground dead after a flick to their nose."

"I know, right?" She grinned as she took her hand back and adopted a boxing stance, albeit still sitting. "I'm not even on the circuit yet and my training's paying off. I got this boxing gig in the bag."

He smiled at her enthusiasm.

Then he began laughing. Truly laughing, and an infectious one by the way Yang joined him. It was so silly of them, but despite the sudden conflict they still felt at peace with the world. They were both fine, _actually_ fine, and they were happy.

Managing to bring himself under control a minute later, he asked, "So, anywhere else you want to go, or should we not risk starting another fight tonight?"

"Nah, let's call this date where it is. End this on a high note."

"Yes, ma'am." Still smiling, he started the truck and made the drive to Yang's house, both of them gushing a little over how silly Nick looked when he got smacked.

When they made it to her abode, he shut the truck off and began walking her to the door. "Well, Miss Xiao Long, I must say that tonight has been quite an adventure."

"I agree wholeheartedly, Mister Arc." They shared another grin at their banter, but then came the moment where they actually reached her door. Jaune wasn't sure how to end this moment, so that left them in a briefly awkward atmosphere that Yang saw fit to take control of. "So, Jaune, this is the normally the part where the girl would want a kiss goodnight."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sensing a but."

"Well," she started slowly. "I was talking to Blake and she made a good point about something. I started showing you my feelings only after you started hurting from everything _else_ that's gone on, and it- kinda feels like I picked you up on the rebound. Am I right?"

"No-" He started to say, but he caught himself when he really began thinking about the events of the past month or so. "Okay, maybe, but I still had a blast tonight. Really."

She nodded. "Mm. So, I'll tell you what Jaune: We can take this whole friendship-slash-relationship thing as fast or as slow as you feel comfortable with. But you should know my honest feelings, and that is that I like you. I want to be with you, and see where dating can take us."

She paused a moment to glance at the nearby window. "I don't think anybody's peeking, so feel free to take your time deciding."

Jaune took a deep breath in as he seriously considered all of their circumstances. The more experienced people in his life had warned him (at different times) that rushing into things, especially after a heartbreak, tended to land most couples in hot water. He didn't want to be part of that statistic.

So, after a few moments of deliberation, he slowly leaned down and, tilting his head a little bit, gently kissed her on the cheek. It was slow, and he slightly regretted having to pull away. "Let's go on another date soon, Yang."

Yang reached a hand up and stroked his cheek. "That would be nice."

Taking that as his dismissal, Jaune turned away and walked a few steps back towards his truck, the gravel of the makeshift walkway crunching under his feet.

" _She's been fighting for your sake this entire time."_

He stopped as the recent memory stirred.

" _No, scratch that, we_ are _hanging out today, because Yang Xiao Long does not simply let a friend sit around depressed and not move to fix it."_

"Yang." Before he even realized it, Jaune had spun around and marched every step back to her. She had been mid-process of unlocking the front door, but stopped when he called out to her and raised a trimmed eyebrow in a silent question. Once he stood beside her, looking down at this wonderful girl before him, he gently placed both of his hands on her cheeks and caressed them, hoping to convey his intent through that.

It worked, as Yang's expression shifted from one of surprise to one of affection and warmth as she met his gaze. "Now _that's_ more like it."

And at that moment, they connected.

One thing Jaune never expected was for his first kiss to be so warm. At that moment he wasn't even sure what he _had_ expected, but as he drew Yang's lips into his own it felt like he was connecting his heart to the Sun. She pressed her body against his as she put her arms around his head to bring him further down. They were only using their lips, no tongues involved at all, but it seemed like the intensity had already broken the scale.

In hindsight it was a simple kiss, but it was far from chaste. In that moment Yang marked him as her own, and he accepted the label happily. He wanted more from her, and she from him, but he broke the kiss to keep things from escalating too far. They would have time, they both knew. As far as they were concerned, they had all the time in the world to get even closer.

 **X**

 **Look at that, relatively close updates for my stories! Now that's a surprise.**

 **I have a Pa(t)reon page now. I'm not holding any of my stories hostage, and never will; but if you have a buck to spare, please consider rolling by my Profile page you'll find through this not-so-cleverly encrypted link. And no matter what, thank you for loving my stories.**

 **Have a wonderful day.**

 **pa(t) reon dot com / RandomOPanda**


	23. Chapter 23

- **Weiss** -

It was Friday evening. The living room was unusually quiet due to the Arc sisters having decided to visit some friends, but the silence was broken when Weiss's ringtone erupted from the table before her. She grabbed it as soon as she could, bringing it up to her ear and entering her business mode. "Hello? Yes, this is she. Thank you for returning my call so quickly."

"...?"

"No, as I said before, I'll be living by myself."

"..."

She was grateful the other party couldn't see her roll her eyes. "That's why I included a copy of my bank statement, ma'am, so you could see that I'll have no issues paying rent or any of my related bills."

"..."

Sigh. "So I still need one regardless? I see. Thank you for your time, and yes, I still would like to rent it out. I'll contact you when I have the paperwork ready."

The call ended, and Weiss couldn't resist the urge to fall back into the sofa. "You were right, Juniper. I need someone to co-sign for an apartment, no matter what."

"That's just the way housing is, Weiss." The Arc matriarch had already begun filling out her portion of the papers, having long known what would happen. "You have no job or prior credit, and renting a home is all about liability. At least I'm available to put my name on it, so for you it's no major issue."

"Thank you again." She sighed in mild frustration. "I can't wait to see what buying a car will be like once I can drive."

"Actually, car companies love customers like you." Juniper stopped writing long enough to flash her a wry smile. "They'll think that you can only make minimum payments, maximising the money they'll make off of you. And if you fail to pay, it's not difficult to have the car repossessed. Word to the wise: Never buy cars new, since the value drops the instant you leave the lot with it."

"I'll make sure to remember that." Weiss looked over her apartment of choice on the website. It was part of a complex, on the route of one the public school buses and only a five minute walk to the city bus stop. It had central heating and air (a must for her) on top of being pet friendly; not that she felt she needed a pet, just that she secretly hoped she would have a neighbor with a nice dog.

Unfortunately all of the one bedroom apartments were taken, so she would have to rent a two bedroom instead. At least any guests would have a place to sleep besides the sofa, if she cared to get an air mattress of some sort. "I've been so busy that I missed it, when are Olive and Jaune expected home?"

"Probably somewhere from eight-thirty to nine-thirty tonight." Juniper flipped through the pages once more to check for any missed sections. "That should be it for these papers. I'll give you my documents tomorrow so you can submit them together."

Weiss accepted them gratefully. "My thanks once more. Do you need anything before you go to bed?"

"I think I'm okay, thank you." The woman rose from her seat, already taking a few steps towards her room. "We're going to miss having you around the house, you know."

"And I'll miss you, too, but this is something I have to do. Plus, I would hate to overstay my welcome. Good night, Juniper."

"Good night, Weiss." With a parting wave Juniper dismissed herself for the night, leaving Weiss alone with her thoughts. What she'd said was completely true; she knew she would miss the Arc home dearly, but with her former life having crumbled to dust, she needed to find out who Weiss Schnee was. Who she would be.

With her apartment hunting duties paused and her homework completed, she opted to spend the next hour simply watching t.v., not that there was much she cared to keep up with. _"If I do get a t.v., it'll likely be just to play movies or Netflix. I wonder what equipment I'll need for that?"_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. "Welcome home, you two."

Olive strolled into the living room, dressed in the black work attire of the Vermilion Garden. "We're home! Did you miss me?"

"Maybe." Olive let out a fake gasp as Jaune walked by, simply nodding his head to her before heading upstairs. Weiss tried not to show how upset she was about that. "How was work?"

"Oh, you know, never-ending plates, bowls, and silverware. Wash, rinse, set aside. Repeat eight hundred times." The Arc fell beside her on the couch, causing the cushion to bounce a little. "Serving customers will be so much better, so I'll just deal with it for now, but it is astounding how hard some things can be to get clean."

Weiss passed the remote to her with a smile. "If you really think about it, Olive, that just means you're serving a crucial role in the business."

"I don't need your sass." Olive briefly put her legs on the table as she looked at the t.v. guide, only to think better of it and set them back on the ground. "So, find your new home yet?"

"I have, though with some annoyances. I may be moving out as soon as next weekend."

"Mm." Olive eventually settled on some late-night game show, but muted it as soon as she reached it and looked at her. "Weiss, can I be nosy?"

"Would you stop if I said no?"

"Yes, actually." Weiss had only been joking, but the admission got her attention as speaking. "At this point you really are family, and… I hate seeing you and Jaune do this awkward tiptoeing around each other. I know that you won't tell me what caused it, but can I at least help you two get past it?"

She let out a small breath of air, though this one was of amusement rather than annoyance. "I'm sure we'll get over our issues in time, Olive, but thank you anyways."

"Fair enough." The blonde unmuted the t.v., but had one last thing to say. "By the way, Weiss, you're a singer right?"

"I am, why?"

"I was just hoping to hear you sing at some point, that's all." Olive let it drop there, leaving Weiss to wonder why she seemed a little cryptic with that last statement. They watched the show together for a half hour, until Olive decided it was time to head to bed. With nothing important to do the next day, Weiss didn't particularly feel like sleeping; but at the same time, she had no inclination to keep watching the show.

" _I think I could use some fresh air..."_

Turning off the t.v. and grabbing a jacket from her room, Weiss found herself standing on the porch, staring at the broken moon as she compared it to herself. Within the past month she'd felt the world shatter around her, not unlike the glass of a mirror. For quite some she'd even considered her life to be like one, albeit it was a life where her reflection showed her assumed dreams instead of her true, yet currently unknown, aspirations. In fact, she'd felt that way so strongly-

 _Mirror, tell me something,  
Tell me who's the loneliest of all?_

She wrote songs about it.

 **X**

- **Jaune** -

After Jaune took a shower and hit sanctuary of his room, he changed out of his work clothes into his casual wear and called his girlfriend. She picked up after three rings, which he'd learned was her normal answering time if she wasn't expecting a call in particular. Yang's voice came out of the speakers. " _Well hello there, handsome._ "

He smiled as he fell into his bedsheets. "Hello yourself, beautiful. You owe me five Lien."

" _So Cardin played nice with your sister?_ "

"Not only did he play nice, he taught Olive a couple tricks to make sure she could keep up without feeling like she might burn out of energy."

" _Wow. I know I haven't paid much attention to him the last couple years, but he really has matured, huh?_ "

"I'm not sure if it was me decking him in the face or Vermilion hammering a work ethic into him that did it, though."

Yang let out a laugh. " _I guess we can pretend it was you for now. So, what's your new weekly schedule gonna look like with Olive broken in now?"_

"We'll be working Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, at least until I start doing band stuff next semester and it has to move around a little."

" _Mm, that's not bad at all. You'll still make decent money on the weekends while having plenty of time to be with your new, favorite blonde!"_

It was his turn to laugh. "You're trying to compete with my sisters? It's not like I compare you to them."

" _True. I'd be a little worried if you stared at their chest while they were sweaty_."

He coughed. She'd caught him red handed.

 _Mirror-_

Jaune was brought to pause as he heard what sounded like a song. Did Olive have her music up too loud? Pushing that aside for the moment, he asked, "So how was my favorite blondes afternoon?"

" _It was good! I got some nice sets in, got to tease Ruby a little. What was that phrase you used- Ah. Same stuff, different day._ "

"Mm. Are you gonna be free tomorrow?"

" _Maybe? We're doing something to celebrate uncle Qrow's birthday, but I still don't know what. Call me in the morning?_ "

"I will. Good night, Yang." He ended the call when she returned the sentiment, placing his phone on his nightstand before rolling to the right a little and grabbing his guitar from its home. Hearing the music coming from Olive's room had put him in the mood to sing himself-

 _Mirror, mirror, what's behind you?  
Save me from the things I see!_

" _Wait, I know that voice. And it's coming from outside."_ Jaune stopped as he strained his ears to listen to the music. How could he have forgotten what Weiss's singing sounded like? And it was the song he'd heard her sing in the chorus room! After a minute of listening to her she stopped, and Jaune found himself waiting for her to continue as he held his guitar. Was there more? There had to be more. Please say there was-

 _Who am I to complain?  
My life's been spared so much pain_

It was a peculiar siren call, but as Weiss began singing again, he felt inexplicably drawn to her. Moving silently, he put his jacket on and slipped downstairs while still carrying the guitar with him.

 _Born with all that I need  
My comforts all guaranteed_

 _So what's the problem/ What's keeping me  
From moving forward/ It's hard to see  
_

As he opened the front door of the home, he was immediately reminded of that time outside the chorus room; only this time, Weiss's features were illuminated by the moon itself, contrasting perfectly with the otherwise dark night air. She stopped singing the moment he opened the door, however, choosing instead to turn towards him as he closed the door. She seemed surprised to see him, but quickly masked it with a neutral expression. "Hello again. I didn't bother you, did I?"

"No, not at all." God, what should he even say at this point? "Um, is there more to the song? I didn't mean for you to stop."

Weiss only nodded before taking a deep breath and picking up where she'd left off.

 _I should be free now  
I should be fine  
But the life I fought for  
Still isn't mine_

 _Some believe in fairy stories_  
 _And the ghosts that they can't see_  
 _I know that I could do so much_  
 _If I could just believe in me_

 _Mirror mirror_  
 _Tell me something_  
 _Can I stop my fall?_

She sang uninterrupted for a couple minutes until the song came to its natural end, and only then did Jaune dare to speak. "Weiss, that was… beautiful, and very sad."

"Thank you, and yes it is. It was a reflection of how I felt when I wrote it over a year ago."

He took a couple steps to stand beside her near the railing. "You wrote that by yourself? That's impressive."

She let herself smile for an instant. "I did, indeed. However, I must say that it's out of date now. It may be time to create and adopt a new song."

"I'm jealous. I'm good with the actual music portion, but I can't string words together to save my life." They shared a brief moment of mirth before falling in silence. It was uncomfortable, and Jaune slowly began examining his relationship with Weiss. She'd be moving out sometime soon, so where did he want them to be after that? Friends? Strangers?

 _You're never alone, Crystal_.

He'd said that, hadn't he? Maybe it was time to finally move on.

Plucking the guitar's strings, Jaune did a quick check of the key the instrument was tuned to. "Weiss, if you're up for it, would you like to sing a song with me?"

She perked up at that, turning to look away from the moon as she regarded him curiously. "Certainly, but what is it?"

"I once told a friend of mine to listen to this song whenever she felt lonely. We had a fight recently, but she said that she was sorry, so-" Jaune began gently tapping his foot in time as he started to play. "I want her to know that I forgive her."

 _Beauty queen of only eighteen  
She had some trouble with herself_

Warmth entered Weiss's eyes when she recognized the song before the first words even came out. He nodded his head to her, prompting her to start singing as well.

 _W: He was always there to help her  
She always belonged to someone else_

 _J: I drove for miles and miles  
And wound up at your door  
_

 _W: I've had you so many times  
But somehow, I want more_

With both of them being trained singers, playing off of each other came effortlessly to them. Weiss swayed a bit from side to side while he continued marking time, and together they made their way through the song with nary a mistake.

Both: _I don't mind spending every day  
Out on your corner in the pouring rain  
Look for the girl with the broken smile  
Ask her if she wants to stay a while  
And she will be loved  
And she will be loved_

They sang the last section in unison, letting the moment wash over them as they reached a silent understanding: as bad as things had been since the incident, it was time to let go of the awkwardness and be friends again. Jaune and Weiss, on the same page at last.

The moment was broken by a female voice calling out to them. "Kiiiiiss heeeeer!"

Both of there heads whipped towards the fenceline, where a teenage girl stood with her arms crossed on top of the metal, though it was difficult to make out her features in the dark. "Don't let it end that lamely, man! You had a good atmosphere!"

Jaune cleared his throat awkwardly while Weiss took a couple of steps away from him. "Uh, she's not my girlfriend, miss."

"Well she's never _gonna_ be with that attitude!"

Weiss waved a hand in front of her face to dismiss the claim. "No, he means that he _has_ a girlfriend and I'm not her."

"Oooooooh. Sounds awkward. Well, in that case, gotta introduce myself now!" The girl hopped the fence, and as she stepped closer they could finally see that she was a ginger with two different streaks of color in the front, on top of being a Faunus. Her orange tail swished back and forth lazily as she approached with a hand out. "Name's Neon Katt, and I'm totally your new neighbor! Would've said 'hey', like, two weeks ago, but the family's been busy moving."

"Nice to meet you," Jaune responded while shaking her hand and ignoring the latter comment."I'm Jaune Arc, and this is Weiss."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Weiss added amicably.

"Totes, same to you. So my family just moved here from Atlas, and I have, like, no idea what people do in this town for fun. Any ideas?"

He scratched his chin in thought. "Well, what did you like to do back in Atlas?"

Neon's eyes seemed to sparkle. "I hit the town to go skating and dancing! Anything except for polka music, I'm down for. If I don't feel like grooving, though, I usually play video games with my friends."

Weiss gave a small sound in her throat. "I'm not sure I'll be of much help. Jaune?"

"Hmm. Skating is probably the same anywhere in the world, so you might just have to go around town and check out the public spots." Inspiration struck. "Buuut, if video games are your thing then have I got the place for you."

 **X**

" **But panda, you just had Yang and Jaune have a feel good moment. Now Weiss?"**

 **Yes indeed! Gotta make things happy before you can make conflict again.**

 **If you enjoyed the chapter (Or didn't), why not leave a review? It lets me know how I'm really doing.**

 **Pa(t) reon dot com / RandomOPanda**


End file.
